Clarksville, Ark.-A pair of Howard Payne pitchers one-hit the Eagles and Yellow Jacket Ryan Breeding notched the game-winning two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to push the Yellow Jackets past Ozarks 4-3 Saturday in American Southwest Conference crossover action.
HPU’s starting pitcher Jonathan Morris allowed just one hit in four and one-third innings and Robert Anders tossed four and two-third innings of no-hit ball. Yet Ozarks (5-9) led 3-2 until the bottom of the eighth. The Eagles took advantage of six walks and a couple of hit batsmen by Morris and Anders to hold the lead late in the game. Howard Payne (8-5) scored a pair of runs from two hits in the third inning to take a 2-0 advantage. In the fourth, Jonathan Cox was hit by a pitch and Cory Briggs followed with a walk. Jeremy Hogan then recorded the team’s only hit to bring in Cox. Ian Bryan later had a sacrifice RBI to tie the game. The Eagles took the lead, 3-2, when Scott Dietz scored on an error in the fourth. A sacrifice RBI in the bottom half of the eighth by Howard Payne put the contest at 3-3 heading into the ninth. Anders got a groundout and a pair of strikeouts in the top of the ninth to keep Ozarks off the board. Ozarks then retired Howard Payne’s first two batters, and just when the game appeared to be headed into extra innings for the second straight day, Taylor Zambreski doubled through the left side of the infield. Breeding promptly delivered the game-winning hit to score pinch runner Lucas Creed.
Travis Conner started and went six and one-third innings. Brett Wood (2-1) took the loss in relief.
Topics: Athletics