Clarksville, Ark.-The Eagles fought valiantly to put the game-tying run at the plate in the ninth inning and posted the most hits against Texas-Tyler?s pitching staff only to have the No. 9 Patriots take a 12-10 win in game three of their American Southwest Conference series.
The Eagles (13-16, 2-7 ASC) tagged the conference’s No. 1 pitching staff for 18 hits and ten earned runs. Texas-Tyler (23-7, 9-3 ASC) came into the game with a conference-low 2.72 ERA. But Ozarks’ offense kept the contest close Friday as it rallied on more than one occasion to pull within striking distance. After falling behind 12-9 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Zac Mitchell launched his second home run of the day over the left field wall to pull the Eagles within 12-10. With two outs, Dean Igert laced a single up the middle to put the hot-hitting Freddy Prince at the plate. Prince, who was 5-for-5 prior to his last at-bat, would fly out to end the game as the Patriots escaped with their conference-leading ninth win.