Princeton, IN – After splitting the doubleheader with Bethel University on Saturday, a doubleheader with Marian University was scheduled for Sunday. A big walk-off homerun in game two helped the Mighty Oaks sweep the series versus the Knights.
Game 1
After allowing one Marian run to score in the first inning, the Mighty Oaks took a 1-3 lead in the second inning. After
Payton Hall singled,
Conner Oxley drove a ball to deep left field for a two-run homerun.
Xander Willis followed with another base hit, before he stole second and third base.
Jared Kirkman brought him home with a sacrifice fly.
In the top of the third inning, the Knights were able to tie the game up at a score of 3-3. No runs were scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning, as Mighty Oaks starting pitcher
Tommy Johnson really found his groove.
In the seventh inning, of this nine-inning contest, the Knights took a one-run lead, but Oakland City did not give up. Four runs were scored by the Mighty Oaks in the eighth inning. With runners on first and second base,
Bailey Hale drove in a run with a single through the left side. A walk for pinch-hitter
Victor Alvarez loaded the bases, before
Sam Pinckert also drew a walk. This allowed the Mighty Oaks to get back on top. A big two-RBI single from
Treven Madden, put the home team up three runs.
With the score being 4-7,
Hunter Callahan shut the door for the Mighty Oaks in the ninth inning. Him and
Tommy Johnson were the pitchers for Oakland City. Johnson threw seven innings, gave up six hits, four runs, of which one was earned. He walked one and hit two batters, but also struck out nine. Callahan, who entered the game in the eighth inning, closed out the game, throwing two innings, allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three and preventing the Knights from scoring.
Game 2
A real pitcher's duel occurred in the second game of the double header. Oakland City was the first team to score in this seven-inning game. After
Victor Alvarez reached base on a fielding error and
Sam Pinckert drew a walk,
Conner Oxley hit a double that allowed both baserunners to score.
In the fifth inning, Marian University was able to score one, and in the seventh they were able to tie the game up at 2-2. The home team wasn't able to score again, so extra innings were needed to decide a winner.
Luke Osborn came in to pitch in the seventh inning, taking over the pitching duties from starting pitcher
Ben Simmons. Osborn put up a zero in the eighth inning, giving the Mighty Oaks an opportunity to walk it off.
Mason Simon singled with one out in the inning. With two outs,
Sam Pinckert got a pitch he liked and he drove it to deep center field for a walk-off homerun. The final score was 2-4 and the Mighty Oaks improved their record to 11-1.
On the mound for Oakland City,
Ben Simmons went 6.2 innings, allowing four hits, two runs (one earned) and three walks, while striking out five. His reliever,
Luke Osborn, threw 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and a walk, while striking out one. Osborn didn't allow any runs and earned his first win of the year.
The Oakland City offense only had four hits;
Conner Oxley had two of them.
Next up on the schedule for the Mighty Oaks is another home series. The Crimson Pride of IUPU Columbus (1-6) will travel to Oakland City on Thursday and Friday for two doubleheaders.
