Drovers Blast 11 Homers in Double-Header Sweep

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Tuesday afternoon, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (22-13, 8-4 SAC) continued to win by wide margins as they collected a double-header sweep against Bacone College (1-23, 1-4 CAC). The Drovers won the first game 33-2, followed by a 25-3 victory in game two.

With the sweep, the Drovers have won nine of their last 10 games, and they have outscored opponents 135-42 during that span. Furthermore, Science & Arts in on a five-game win-streak and they have outscored opponents 97-9 during that time. In the last five games, the Drovers have demolished 15 homeruns and the pitching staff has struck out 54 batters.

USAO has scored at least 10 runs in a game on 13 different occasions this season, including a stretch of seven times in the last nine games.

-GAME 1-

The Drovers scored in all six innings that they came to the plate in the first game of the day. USAO opened the day with four runs in the first inning, followed by seven runs in the second inning to take an 11-0 lead into the third.

Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning, but the Drovers once again stretched the lead with seven runs in the fourth inning, followed by seven more in the fifth.

USAO scored its final six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning prior to closing out the win.

Kaden Alexander led an incredible pitching performance from Science & Arts. Alexander got the start and pitched the opening 5.0 innings to improve his record to 4-1 this season. He struck out four batters while only allowing two runs.

Hagen Earls and Brian Ereu combined for five strikeouts as they each delivered a scoreless inning of relief to close out the game. 

As a team, the Drovers compiled 26 hits, coming from 15 different players. Furthermore, eight different players blasted homeruns in the win.

Ben Lawson led the offensive attack, going 3-4 with a double, a homerun, a walk, three runs scored, and four runs batted in. Gunnar Wicklund also finished with three hits, along with three runs scored. 

Boone Lasater finished 2-3 with a homerun, a walk, two runs scored, and three runs batted in, while William Bennett went 2-3 with a homer and four RBIs.

Gage Gaunt launched his eighth homer of the season as he concluded 2-2 with a pair of runs scored. Gavin Machado also finished 2-2, with a triple, a pair of walks, and a run batted in.

Nick Fleckenstein and Ryan Rodriguez each concluded 2-4. Fleckenstein added a trio of runs scored and a pair of RBIs, while Rodriguez crushed a homerun and scored twice. Ryan Duncan closed 2-4 with a triple, three runs scored and four runs batted in.

Christopher Martinez blasted a homerun as he finished 1-2 with a pair of runs and three runs batted in. Will Hoch concluded 1-1 with a homerun and a pair of RBIs. Luke Lewis dispatched his first long ball of the year as he went 1-3 with four runs scored and three runs batted in.

Jayce Roberts went 1-3 with a double, a pair of walks, three runs scored, and a pair of RBIs. Peyton McDowall scored once and drove in a run as he went 1-2. Cody Floyd singled and scored in his only at bat of the game. 

-GAME 2-

After a scoreless first inning, the Drovers scored eight runs in the bottom of the second inning. Bacone cut into the deficit with a trio of runs in the top of the third, but USAO plated 10 runs in the bottom of the third to take an 18-3 lead.

Science & Arts scored two runs in the fourth inning, followed by five more in the fifth, and neither team scored in the final two innings.

Megumi Fukuda got the start on the mound and improved his record to 4-3 this season. Fukuda struck out two batters and surrendered three runs in 2.1 innings.

Claudio Rodriguez, Nolan Gagnon, Cameron Johnson, and Cayleb Hunter combined to strikeout seven batters in 4.2 scoreless innings of relief out of the bullpen.

The offense stayed hot and tallied a dozen hits in the win. Gunnar Wicklund led the way, going 3-4 with a walk and four runs scored. 

Christopher Martinez scored four times and drove in four runs as he finished 2-6 with a triple and a homerun.

Ben Lawson continued to swing a hot-bat, concluding 2-2 with a double, a homer, two walks, two runs scored, and three runs batted in.

 Nick Fleckenstein went 2-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs, while Anthony Hrynkiw went 2-4 with a pair of runs batted in.

Boone Lasater concluded 1-2 with a homerun and two RBIs.

USAO Baseball Schedule by The Numbers

• #15 in latest NAIA BO CHIP report
• #10 in latest RPI rankings
• #1 Strength of schedule in NAIA
• Only 3 of 15 opponents have sub .500 records
• 8 of 15 opponents have been ranked or receiving votes in Top 25 poll at some point this season
• USAO has won 9 of 12 "series" so far
• *series of 2 games or more*
• Series victories vs #9 Bellevue, RV McPherson, RV MACU, #17 TX Wes
• 9-8 record vs Top 25 or RV

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will hit the road for a three-game series at Southwestern Christian University on April 7-8. First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 2:00 PM, followed by a double-header that will start at 12:00 PM in Bethany, Okla. 

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