Clarksville, Ark.-Rusty Cordell homered twice in game one and the Eagles pitching staff held Clarke College to five hits in game two to help Ozarks to a sweep in their seven-inning games Tuesday.
Cordell smashed his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot in the bottom of the second, to put Ozarks up 3-1 in game one. Bruce Cameron added to the lead with a solo shot in the third. Meanwhile, starter Jeremy Hogan kept the Crusader bats quiet through five and two-third innings, as he scattered five hits and walked two. Clarke battled back and cut it to 4-2 in the fourth and eventually tied it 4-4 after platting a pair of runs in the sixth. Cordell, a freshman from Greencastle, Pa., went deep for a second time in the bottom of the sixth to give Ozarks the lead for good. John Scheuring (2-1) picked up the win after tossing one and one-third innings in relief. Scheuring fanned three, including J.D. Judd in the seventh with one runner on to end the game with a 5-4 win.
Cordell, Scott Dietz and Andrew Teaster each had two hits. Cordell drove in four.
Dietz delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth to break a 5-5 tie in game two and help Ozarks to a 7-5 victory. David Smith led off the inning with a double to left field and following two fly outs, Clarke intentionally walked Todd Koch to put two runners on. Both advanced a base after an error on the second baseman, setting up Dietz for a game-winning opportunity. Dietz did just that, hitting a shot to center field to score both runs. Scheuring then closed out the game to receive his first save of the year.
The Eagles held a 2-1 lead after two and added two more in the second on an RBI triple by Cameron and an RBI single by Cory Briggs. Clarke got two runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the sixth, Cameron ran down a long ball to center to save two runs. However, the Crusaders took advantage of an error on the next at-bat to tie the game 5-5.
Travis Conner started and went four and two-third innings. He gave up three hits and fanned three. Spencer Bartlett, Bill Smith, Bobby Osburn and Scheuring each saw action on the mound, giving up a combined two hits.
Cameron paced Ozarks with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Dietz finished with 3 RBI.
Ozarks will travel to Marshall, Texas, to face East Texas Baptist University March 6-7.
Topics: Athletics