Princeton, IN – A four-game series between the IUPUC Crimson Pride and the Mighty Oaks took place on Thursday and Friday. These would be the last Mighty Oak home games on Gil Hodges Field, before they move to League Stadium for the remainder of their home games. A sweep, got the Oakland City baseball team feeling confident, before River States Conference play starts next weekend.
Game 1
On what started as a sunny day,
Gehrig Tenhumberg cruised on the mound towards an Oakland City victory. An early 3-0 lead after one inning, thanks to a 3-run homerun from
Conner Oxley, set the tone for the rest of the game.
An RBI double from
Sam Pinckert in the fourth, and two walks with the bases loaded in the third, put the Mighty Oaks up 6-0. But the damage wasn't done yet.
Treven Madden, barely missed a homerun to left centerfield, but was still able to collect three RBIs with a double. This put the score at 9-0 after three innings of play in Princeton.
The Crimson Pride of IUPU Columbus scored two runs in the fourth inning, when Trey Johnson deposited a ball over the right field fence.
In the bottom half of the fourth,
Xander Willis grew the lead. He hit a two-run homerun to left centerfield, bringing home
Payton Hall, who got on base via a hit by pitch. The lead grew to 13-2 when
Conner Oxley (double) and
Jackson Pullen (walk) were able to score on botched catch in right field.
13-2 was the final score, as the game was called after seven innings.
Gehrig Tenhumberg (6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) earned the win in the first game of the series.
Blake Mincey came in out of the bullpen and threw one inning, allowing just one baserunner on a hit by pitch, while also striking out one.
Game 2
After a big win in the first game of the doubleheader, the Mighty Oaks stayed hot in game two. An RBI double by
Conner Oxley, RBI single by
Victor Alvarez and an RBI groundout by
Oliver Hamilton, put the home team up four to nothing in the first inning.
In the top of the second inning, the Crimson Pride was able to score, pulling off a squeeze play. The Mighty Oaks answered pack, when
Conner Oxley drive in
Sam Pinckert with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning.
The Oakland City lead got expanded in the fourth inning. Back-to-back doubles from
Sam Pinckert and
Treven Madden, allowed one run to score.
Conner Oxley collected another RBI with a single through the left side, bringing home Madden.
With the bases loaded in the fifth inning,
Noah Baugher hit a hard single up the middle to drive in another run. This was the only damage done in this inning.
A big moment for
Wes Scamahorn occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning. The left-handed hitter drove a ball to deep right field for his first collegiate homerun, as well as three runs for the Mighty Oaks. With this homerun, the score became 11-1, which would end up being the final score in the second game of the doubleheader.
Owen Spears started on the mound for Oakland City. He collected his third win of the season, going five innings, allowing six hits, 1 run (earned), while walking none and striking out seven. Out of the bullpen, freshmen
Konnor Kreinbrook and
Colin Kapust came in for the first time this season. Kreinbrook impressed, striking out all three batters he faced in his inning of work. Kapust also did his job, shutting the door in the seventh, giving up just one hit and striking out one.
Game 3
On what turned out to be a colder day, the Mighty Oaks took the field at noon, for game three and four of the series. The opponents from Columbus were not afraid to start of hot, after the two losses on Thursday. A walk and a bunt single would put runners on first and third, a single through the left side scored the 1-0.
Oakland City tied the game up at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning, when
Bailey Hale hit a double to right centerfield, which allowed
Xander Willis to score. Willis got on base with a single.
The Crimson Pride retook the lead in the third inning. One inning later, it was once again
Bailey Hale who drove in the tying run. With an RBI single to right field, he drove in
Xander Willis, who got on base with another single. A 2-RBI single from
Mason Simon gave the home team the lead. This was the start of a big inning.
Treven Madden allowed the 2-5 to score by getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Another 2-RBI single followed, this time from
Conner Oxley.
Xander Willis followed with another single, which allowed Madden to score.
Bailey Hale, who ended up going 4-for-5 on the day, drove in another run with a single. This put the score at 2-10 after four innings.
In the fifth, the Oaks scored once again, when
Conner Oxley drove in
Mason Simon with a double. The Crimson Pride scored two more times, but they were not able to put the Mighty Oaks victory in jeopardy. Oakland City won the third game of the series with a score of 4-11.
On the mound for Oakland City, the duties were split between
Tommy Johnson (6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO),
Garrett Whiteker (2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB) and
Brandon Davis who needed four pitches to record three outs in the ninth inning.
Game 4
After three high-scoring games, more of a pitchers duel occurred in the fourth game of the series. Only six hits were collected between both teams in this seven-inning game.
For Oakland City, it were
Hunter Callahan and
Evan Price who pitched. Callahan earned the win, throwing six innings, allowing one hit and three runs (1 earned), while walking two and striking out five. Price came in to throw the last inning, allowing one hit, no runs, while striking out one.
The Mighty Oaks faced an early 2-0 deficit. In the third inning, things changed quickly. With the bases loaded,
Oliver Hamilton came up to the plate. The freshman catcher deposited a ball, deep over the left field fence. This put the game at 2-4.
One inning later,
Xander Willis drove in the fifth Oakland City run, with a sacrifice fly to left field. This would be the last scoring opportunity for the Mighty Oaks. The Crimson Pride scored once more, but it wasn't enough to retake the lead. This 3-5 victory put the Mighty Oaks at an impressive 15-1 record on the year.
After this somewhat relaxing week for the Mighty Oaks, with only two doubleheaders, a big week is coming up. On Tuesday the Mighty Oaks will travel to McKenzie, Tennessee to take on Bethel University in one nine-inning game. The following day, the JV team will take on Wabash Valley College, the number eight ranked team in NJCAA Division 1. River States Conference play starts on Friday, when Indiana University Kokomo heads to League Stadium in Huntingburg, to take on the Mighty Oaks in a three-game series.
