Clarksville, Ark.- Behind Curt Dixon's seven inning, seven strikeout pitching performance, the Eagles took game one 6-1, but a ninth inning three-run homer lifted Mary Hardin-Baylor to a 18-16 victory in game two on Saturday.
Ozarks (10-2) led in game one 2-0 after the first when Robby Finnell and Robert Mummey each had an RBI. Dixon kept the Crusaders (11-2) hitless through the first two innings, but even a single in the third did not do any damage as he forced a double play on the next at bat to end the frame. Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth, David Smith doubled in a run and John Glenn singled in another to increase the Eagles’ lead to 4-0. Ozarks made it 6-0 in the fifth when Robert Mummey hit a two-run homer. It was his fourth of the season. Meanwhile, Dixon, the school’s all-time strikeout leader, kept the Crusaders off the board through five and fanned five during that span.
Dixon (2-0) yielded just four hits and two walks in the win.
Bruce Cameron and Cory Briggs each went 2-for-3. Glenn and Todd Koch finished 2-for-4.
With the score tied at 15-15 in the top of the ninth, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Steven Reinlie hit a three-run jack to propel the Crusaders to a 18-16 win in game two.
The two teams combined for 31 hits, but the game was marred by a total of nine errors. With Ozarks trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the second, Bruce Cameron, the team’s RBI leader, delivered a single to score two runs and put Ozarks up 6-5. After a quiet third and fourth inning, Mary Hardin-Baylor homered in the fifth, but Ozarks answered with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to lead 12-9. However, the Crusaders climbed back into the high-scoring affair and tied it at 15-15 after the eighth, and eventually took the lead behind Reinlie. Down 18-15, Ozarks wouldn’t go away, as the Eagles brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth. Pinch hitter Scott Dietz tripled off the center field wall to bring in pinch runner Tad Turner, but Crusader pitcher Les Sarles ended the rally when he got Brad Broussard to ground out to secure the win.
Kyle Hudson (0-1) took the loss for Ozarks.
Cameron finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. Briggs ended the game 3-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Ozarks will host Eureka College on Monday beginning at 2:00 p.m.
Topics: Athletics