Clarksville, Ark.-Mississippi College powered their way to two wins over the University of the Ozarks baseball team and knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs in Saturday afternoon's American Southwest Conference double-header.
Ozarks ends the season with a 19-21 overall record and a 9-12 ASC mark. With the three-game sweep over the Eagles, Mississippi College (27-13, 14-7) becomes the 2006 ASC East Division champions. Mississippi College exploded for six runs in the top of the seventh to overcome a one run deficit and gain an 11-6 victory over Ozarks in game one. Trailing 6-5, the Choctaws scored the runs they needed on six hits to put the pressure on Ozarks in their final at bat. The Eagles had only one runner reach base in the bottom of the seventh. The back-and-forth battle saw Mississippi College score once in the top of the first, but Ozarks quickly answered with a run after Logan Kizer singled in Tim Renshaw. A two-run blast in the top of the fourth put the Choctaws up 3-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Justin Brown recorded an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-2. Tyler Gideon then delivered a two-RBI double to give the Eagles a 4-3 advantage. The Choctaws took a one run lead the next inning, but Ozarks answered in the bottom half of the inning with two scores on RBI singles by Robby Finnell and Brian Heckmann. But it was the high-powered Choctaw offense that was the difference as they came through with clutch hits in the final inning. Finnell (2-1) took the loss. Kizer went 2-for-3. The Choctaws finished the three-game weekend sweep with an 18-7 victory over the Eagles in game two. Ozarks held a 6-5 lead after two innings of play, but the Choctaws scored twice in the top of the third and would hold the lead for the remainder of the game. Anthony Brandon singled in two runs in the bottom of the second to give Ozarks a one-run cushion. However, the Choctaw bats again proved to be the difference as they scored in all but one inning of the nine-inning contest. Ozarks struggled at the plate after the second inning, scoring only once in the final seven innings. The Choctaws out hit Ozarks 21-14. Finnell went 3-for-5. Curt Dixon (4-8) received the loss.
Topics: Athletics