
Drovers Split Twin Bill on the Road at Central Christian
MCPHERSON, Kan. – Friday evening, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (25-15, 14-9 SAC) opened a three-game series with a double-header split on the road at Central Christian College (15-24, 7-15 SAC).
The Drovers fall to 19-1 against the Tigers in the all-time series dating to March 2018.
GAME 1 –
The USAO bats were hot in the series opener, homering in six of the seven innings to cruise to a 17-6 victory.
The Drovers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead as Devin Alvarez connected for his fifth home run of the season in the top of the first inning. Gage Ninness extended the USAO lead to 5-0 in the top of the second as he launched his first homer of the season. The Drovers homered for the third inning in a row as Christopher Martinez crushed his fifth home run of the season, increasing USAO's lead to 6-0. USAO connected for a longball for the fourth consecutive inning, as Gage Ninness and Devin Alvarez hit back-to-back homers, helping extend the lead to 10-0.
The Tigers trimmed their deficit to 10-2 with a homer in the bottom of the fourth. USAO homered in the fifth inning in a row as Peyton McDowall crushed his 10th longball of the season and Nolan Herchock added his second of the season, pushing the Drovers lead to 15-2.
CCC scored three runs in the fifth, followed by their final run in the sixth to cut USAO's lead to 15-6. The Drovers scored their final two runs in the top of the seventh as Duncan Key launched his first homer of the season, prior to holding the Tigers scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
As a team, the Drovers produced 15 hits and reached the bases on four walks, while the Tigers tallied eight hits and drew two free passes. CCC committed four fielding errors, while USAO's defense fumbled the ball twice.
Brian Ereu got the start on the mound for the Drovers and delivered 5.0 innings, allowing five runs on six hits and struck out two batters to improve to 8-1 this season. In his stellar career, Ereu owns a 20-3 record, along with a 4.14 earned run average and he has struck out 163 batters in 163.0 innings pitched.
Bode Brooks relieved Ereu in the sixth, followed by a scoreless inning from Jakob Brandenberger in the seventh.
The Drover offense was led by five multi-hit performances, including Gage Ninness going 3-5 with a pair of homers, four runs scored, and five runs batted in. Devin Alvarez also launched a pair of homers, concluding 2-3 with two walks, four runs scored, and three runs batted in.
Peyton McDowall finished 2-4 with a solo-homer, while Christopher Martinez went 2-4 with a double, a home run, and two runs batted in. Nolan Herchock was perfect at the plate, going 2-2 with a home run and two runs batted in.
Duncan Key launched a two-run dinger in his only at bat. Jaden Wiley went 1-2 with a run scored, while Ian Ortiz went 1-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. Ricky Requejo scored twice as he went 1-4.
GAME 2 –
USAO's offense struggled to knock in baserunners in game two, suffering a 6-4 loss. The Drovers had several scoring chances late in the game but were unable to strike for the tying and go-ahead runs.
The Drovers captured an early 2-0 lead as Gunnar Hansen drove in a pair of runs with a single in the top of the first inning. USAO maintained the lead until the bottom of the third, when Central Christian plated a couple of run to tie the score at 2-2.
USAO reclaimed a 3-2 advantage in the top of the fourth by scoring on a wild pitch, however the lead was short-lived as CCC scored three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-3 lead into the fifth.
The Tigers added to their lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth, prior to the Drovers responding with a run of their own in the top of the sixth.
Central Christian was held scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, and USAO was able to get the tying run in scoring position in the top of the seventh but was able to complete the comeback.
As a team, the Drovers produced nine hits and reached the bases on five walks, while the Tigers tallied only five hits and drew three free passes. CCC committed two fielding errors, while USAO's defense committed four errors. In total, the Drovers left 11 baserunners stranded and the Tigers stranded only two baserunners. All six of Central Christian's were unearned, as a result of USAO's fielding mishaps.
Tyson Noel got the start on the mound for the Drovers and went 3.0 innings, surrendering zero earned runs on five hits, and he struck out three batters. Ryan Cullinane also delivered 3.0 innings, surrendering no earned runs or hits, and he fanned three batters.
The Drover offense was led by a pair of two-hit performances from Gage Ninness and Gunnar Hansen. Ninness concluded 2-3 with a walk, while Hansen went 2-4 with a pair of runs batted in. Devin Alvarez and Corey Morro each singled and scored. Ricky Requejo singled and drove in a run, in addition to a single from Peyton McDowall.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Drovers will and the Tigers will wrap up the three-game series on Saturday, April 12 in McPherson, Kan. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM CT.
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