Princeton, IN – After a solid start of the season, last week at Johnson University, the Mighty Oaks baseball team was looking to stay hot in their first home games of the season. The Crimson Wave of Calumet College of St. Joseph made the trip to Southern Indiana for a three-game series.
Gil Hodges Field in Princeton functions as the homesite for the Mighty Oaks in the first month of the season.
Game 1
Gehrig Tenhumberg took the mound in the home-opener for the Mighty Oaks. He pitched six innings of one-run baseball, giving up seven hits, walking one and striking out eleven.
Christian Burgrabe took over the pitching duties in the seventh inning and closed out the game. He threw three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.
The Oakland City offense put the first runs on the board in the third inning. With one out,
Sam Pinckert singled and was able to make it to third base on a throwing error. After this,
Treven Madden, Conner Oxley and
Payton Hall hit back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles. This moved the score to 3-0. An RBI groundout by
Xander Willis put the fourth run on the board for Oakland City.
In the sixth inning, the Crimson Wave scored their sole run of the game. Garret Causey doubled in the next inning, bringing home
Aron Busick, who got on base with a single. 1-5 was the final score of the first game on Friday.
Game 2
On Saturday, the first game of the doubleheader started off good for the Mighty Oaks. A lead-off double by
Noah Baugher in the first inning was the beginning of a two-run inning. Baugher later scored with
Garrett Causey at the plate, who got on base due to a fielding error.
Xander Willis followed with an RBI single, however he was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double to end the inning.
The third inning also started off hot for the Mighty Oaks.
Sam Pinckert hit a lead-off double, he later scored on an error. Conner Oxley, who got on base because of that same error, later scored on a groundout from
Garrett Causey. An RBI single by
Aron Busick moved the score to 6-0. Three basehits in a row in the fifth inning were, gave
Bailey Hale to bring in the 7-0, with an RBI fielder's choice.
In the sixth inning, the Mighty Oaks were able to expand the score to 10-0.
Xander Willis, who was having himself a day, hit his third single of the game and collected two more RBIs. A walk for
Brandon Skaggs, with the bases loaded, brought home the tenth run for the home squad. 10-0 remained the score, causing the game to be done after seven innings, due to the run-rule being in effect.
On the mound for Oakland City,
Tommy Johnson started. He threw six innings, gave up four hits, walked one and struck out five.
Luke Osborn threw the seventh inning, he did not allow a baserunner and collected one strikeout.
Game 3
The Mighty Oaks kept the momentum going, scoring five runs in the first inning.
Payton Hall brought home the first run with an RBI double.
Sam Pinckert, who reached base via a single, scored on a wild pitch, before
Xander Willis would single home Hall. Willis stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch, all while
Victor Alvarez was at the plate. He drew a walk and was later brought home with an RBI single from
Oliver Hamilton.
In the fourth inning,
Jared Kirkman doubled down the left field line, he later scored on a wild pitch, making it a 6-0 ballgame.
The bases loaded up quickly in the sixth, giving the Mighty Oaks another opportunity for a big inning.
Jackson Pullen singled home the seventh run, followed by a 2 RBI single from
Sam Pinckert.
In the seventh inning, the Crimson Wave showed a little bit of fight, plating three runs. But it wasn't enough for a comeback. The final score in Princeton was 3-9 after seven innings.
On the mound,
Ben Simmons (W, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO),
Owen Spears (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB),
Jackson Yazell (0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB) and
Weston Allen (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R) shared the pitching duties.
With these victories, the Oakland City baseball team is now 6-0 on the year. The Mighty Oaks have a busy week ahead of them. On Monday, the JV squad will travel to Frontier Community College for a nine-inning game. On Wednesday, Trinity Christian College will make the trip to Indiana for a doubleheader and during the weekend, the Pilots from Bethel University will be the opponents for the Mighty Oaks during a four-game home series.
