Oakland City, IN - After Friday's doubleheader saw the Mighty Oaks drop a pair of games against the Grenadiers of Indiana University Southeast, the 17th ranked team in the NAIA, OCU looked to take the series finale on Saturday. In game one, OCU faced an 8-1 deficit entering the bottom of the sixth inning. The Oaks plated six before IUS was able to shut down the comeback bid, but the final score stood at 8-7 in favor of the Grenadiers. Game two saw IUS jump out to an early 9-0 lead after two and a half innings, and scored at least one run in each inning of the scheduled seven played, and OCU fell by the score of 16-4. However, Oakland City made the third and final game of the series one to remember, taking a 10-9 victory, in 11 innings, to leave the weekend with a record of 19-15, while IUS finished with a 22-10 mark on the year.
Game one saw seven hits by the Oaks, led by
Austin Morris, who had two, including a double, to go with two runs batted in and a run scored.
Treven Madden had a pinch hit two RBI double, later scoring a run, while
Chandler Dunn also had a two RBI, a double and a walk.
Noah Baugher,
Payton Hall, and
Xander Willis each had one hit in the loss. Gehrig Tenhumbarg, who started on the mound for the Oaks, went 3.2 innings, allowing seven runs, five earned, on seven hits and one walk, while striking out four.
Will Davis threw 2.1 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk while fanning one, followed by
Tyler Roberts, who pitched the final three innings, surrendering just one hit and one walk to go with five strikeouts.
In game two, Conner Oxley and
Sam Pinckert each went 2-3 at the plate, with Oxley driving in three runs. Baugher and Madden were the only other Oaks with a hit with a single apiece.
Pete Smith lasted two innings as the OCU starter, allowing three runs, all earned, on six hits and a walk, while fanning two.
Garrett Whiteker managed one inning of work, giving up six runs, all earned, on four hits and a walk, followed by
Weston Allen, who gave up one earned run, on one hit and two walks, striking out two, in one inning of work.
Blake Mincey pitched one inning, allowing five runs, four earned, on three hits and two walks, followed by
Blake Pruitt's two innings of work, giving up one run, one hit, one walk, and equalling the total of Whiteker and Mincey with one strikeout each.
The series finale was a different story. A two run top of the first by IUS was immediately answered by the Oaks with a pair of runs in the bottom half. The Oaks took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third, saw their lead shrink by one after the fourth, but again responded by plating two in the bottom of the fifth, making the score 7-3. The Grenadiers picked up three in the sixth, followed by an OCU run in the bottom half of the frame. The visitors even the score at 8-8 with two runs in the top of the eighth, which remained the score at the end of the scheduled nine innings. Neither team managed to score in tenth, but the Grenadiers managed to get a run across in the top of the eleventh. After Madden even the score with a one-out towering homer in the bottom of the 11th, Hall drew a walk, bringing up
Alec Pruitt. Pruitt hit a laser down the third base line, which rolled away from the defense, allowing Hall to race around the bases to score the winning run, scored by the walk-off double.
Chandler Dunn went 4-6 at the plate, including a home run, scoring three runs and driving in another. Madden and Pruitt finished with two hits each, with Madden reaching on a double and a homer, driving in two runs and scoring one, while Pruitt had one RBI, the game winner.
Austin Morris reached safely each time he was up to bat, including four walks and a homer, scoring two runs and driving in one, while
Colton White had a home run of his own, walked once, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice. Pinckert, Oxley, and Davis also had a hit each in the victory.
Justin Hallum pitched the first four innings for the Oaks, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and five walks, striking out four.
Milan VanDerBreggen threw the next three frames, allowing five runs, all earned, on four hits and a walk, with one strikeout, followed by Davis, who pitched 3.1 innings, giving up one earned run, four hits, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Owen Spears picked up the win in relief, inducing the final two IUS outs.
"It was a total team win," stated second year Mighty Oaks skipper
Andy Lasher. "I think we had 17 or 18 guys get into the game today with all the different situations that came up in the late innings. Our guys did a great job of competing and battled their tails off against a great program."
The Oaks will carry a record of 19-15, including a 5-9 River States Conference mark, into their non-conference doubleheader against Lindsey Wilson College. Game one is slated to start at noon on Tuesday, April 5, at Pinnick Field, on the OCU campus.
