The SWOSU baseball team is 2-2 after the first week of the 2021 regular season.
Southern Arkansas 15 SWOSU 6
SWOSU scored 4 runs on 6 hits in the second inning, taking a 4-2 lead, but it was short lived as Bulldog pitchers struggled with command and issues 16 walks that allowed the Muleriders to rack up 15 runs on just 10 hits. Southern Arkansas scored in each of the final five frames, including five runs as they regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Bulldogs also showed some rust in the field, committing four errors which led to three unearned Mulerider runs.
Zach Baxley and Taylan Mullins-Ohm led the Bulldogs offensively, with each player going 4-5 at the plate and scoring twice. Alex Bedard and Brayden Whitchurch each had two hits and one RBI apiece, while Jason Begin and Ryan Dos Santos also had RBI in the game.
Haden Branch got the start on the mound but lasted just three innings before giving way to Rafael Perez-Guzman, 0-1, who took the loss after walking four and allowing three runs in 0.1 innings. Vance Ferraro and Grant Ewy each gave 2 innings to close out the contest.
Southern Arkansas 8, SWOSU 6
The Bulldogs jumped on Southern Arkansas early in game two, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning, but a combined 6 runs in the fourth and fifth innings put the advantage back on the Muleriders side. The game was postponed in the middle of the sixth inning Friday night due to darkness, but resumed Saturday afternoon prior to the series finale. SWOSU scored once in the top of the seventh inning, but got no closer as Southern Arkansas’ closer came on in relief.
SWOSU again out-hit the Muleriders, gaining a 10-5 advantage in the game, but three errors and eight walks again aided the visitors. Baxley had another multi-hit game, going 3-for-4 while Whitchurch also had two hits for SWOSU.
Chris Goldston got the start, but was pulled in the third inning for Noah Chapin, 0-1, who took the loss after allowing four runs on two hits in 2.0 innings of work.
SWOSU 5, Southern Arkansas 2
The series finale followed a different script, with Southern Arkansas scoring in each of the first two innings before SWOSU clamped down and held the Muleriders off the scoreboard the rest of the day. SWOSU scored three runs in the fourth and one apiece in the seventh and eighth innings, making the most of their 10 hits while also capitalizing on a pair of Southern Arkansas errors.
Nate Postlethwait, 1-0, tossed six innings and allowed just one earned run on 7 hits while striking out seven Muleriders. Carson Kress threw the next 1.2 innings before Ryan Hildner, 1 save, picked up his first save with three strikeouts in the final 1.1 innings of action.
Drew White and Ryan Dos Santos had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs while all five RBI and runs scored came from different players.
SWOSU 5, Central Oklahoma 4
For the second time in three days, SWOSU took down a team ranked in the NCBWA Top 25 poll after fending off #23-ranked Central Oklahoma by a score of 5-4 on Monday afternoon at the SWOSU Athletic Complex.
SWOSU scored the first three runs of the game and maintained a lead of 4-1 in the fourth inning after Tyler Benge put down a squeeze bunt to score Jason Begin from third. Central Oklahoma scored the next four runs, tying the game at 4-4 in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI groundout. The difference in the game came on an RBI single from Alex Bedard in the bottom of the sixth that brought Begin home for the go-ahead run.
The Bulldogs won the game despite having just four hits in the game, one apiece for Bedard, Brayden Whitchurch, Ryan Dos Santos and Begin, who scored twice while Bedard, Whitchurch and Dos Santos accounted for the other runs.
Five pitchers split up the nine innings on the hill, with Matt Hopkins getting the start and striking out four in 2.2 innings of work. Vance Ferraro also struck out four and allowed one unearned run in 2.1 innings before Ryan Hildner, 1-0, tossed two innings to pick up the win. Chase Hamilton, 1 save, shut the door on Central Oklahoma, striking out three in the final two innings and getting a groundout to end the game with two runners in scoring position.
SWOSU returns to action this weekend when they host Oklahoma Baptist for a three-game series at the Athletic Complex Friday and Saturday.