OBU upperclassmen shine on Senior Day

ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist split two games on Saturday to win the three-game series with Great American Conference foe Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Every senior that played for Ouachita (13-33, 8-22) picked up a hit in the doubleheader. The 5-3 win to start the doubleheader marked just the third time all season Ouachita won back-to-back games. The Tigers won, 5-4, on Friday to open the series as senior starting pitcher J.F. Matros (3-4), of Arkadelphia, set a new GAC record for career starts with 49 and the conference record for career innings pitched with 309 2/3.

It was the first conference series victory for the Tigers since they won two of three games against East Central (5-34, 4-25) on March 16-17. They ended a 15-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory at Rab Rodgers Field against the University of the Ozarks (16-18, 11-10 American Southwest Conference).

Ouachita's senior led the Tigers with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Designated hitter Jakahari Howell, of Arkadelphia, singled to start the inning and scored on an RBI single by center fielder Ty Owens, of El Dorado.

Victor Draijer, a right fielder from Heanstede, The Netherlands, drove in catcher Austin White, of Arkadelphia, and third baseman Preston Speers, of McKinney, Texas, on a two-out double to right-center field to give Ouachita a 3-0 lead.

Southwestern (22-20, 16-12) got runs back in the fourth and fifth innings to make the score 3-2. Junior shortstop Aaron Studdard, of Denton, Texas, and senior left fielder Chandler Blake, of Frisco, Texas, led off the sixth inning with back-to-back singles.

Howell doubled down the left line to score Studdard. First baseman Kyle Alexander, of Conway, hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Blake and give Ouachita a 5-2 lead going into the seventh.

Southwestern scored one run in the top of the seventh, but the Bulldogs were blanked in the final two frames.

Junior Adam Bahloul, of Maumelle, went the distance for the second time this season. He struck out three and walked one, giving up the three runs on just six hits over the nine innings.

Howell paced the Tigers offense in game one with a 3-for-5 day at the plate. The senior also picked up the go-ahead RBI in the bottom of the sixth inning. Studdard, Blake and White all had two-hit performances .

Southwestern responded to take the second game of the series, 7-2, and end Ouachita's three-game winning streak. The Bulldog offense came out swinging, taking a 3-0 advantage in the opening frame.

The Tigers responded in the bottom half of the inning. Howell scored on an RBI single by Alexander, who then scored on an RBI single by White.

The Bulldogs scored two more runs in the third inning for a 5-2 lead. Another two runs in the seventh inning set the final score.

A Ouachita rally fell short in the bottom of the seventh inning as Studdard grounded into a double play to end the game. The hosts were held to four hits in the game.

The Tigers are scheduled to travel to Cleveland, Miss., on Tuesday to take on No. 10 Delta State (35-7, 21-4 Gulf South Conference). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Softball

WEATHERFORD, Okla. -- Ouachita Baptist's softball team lost, 2-1 and 9-1, on the road Sunday afternoon in Great American Conference action.

Ouachita (19-27, 15-23) has now lost five games in a row after a four-game sweep of Northwestern Oklahoma State (13-30, 12-25) just a week ago. Southwestern (12-33, 12-23) has now won three games in a row.

The Tigers entered the weekend in eighth place in the standings for the final spot in the 2018 GAC Softball Championships tournament to be held next month in Bentonville.

Six games separate sixth-place Harding (29-21, 21-19) and seventh-place East Central (20-27-1, 15-22-1). Behind Ouachita is Oklahoma Baptist (16-27, 13-22) in ninth place, Southwestern in 10th, Northwestern in 11th and Arkansas-Monticello (10-39, 10-28) in 12th.

The Tigers are scheduled for two more games today against Southwestern before closing out the regular season Friday and Saturday with four games against Oklahoma Baptist at Sully Anderson Field.

Sports on 04/23/2018

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