NAIA
[Baseball] Drovers Score in Bunches to Advance to SAC Championship Game
CHICKASHA, Okla. – Sunday afternoon, the No. 2 seed University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (35-12, 17-7 SAC) advanced to the SAC Tournament Championship game with a 14-7 victory against Wayland Baptist University (29-23, 9-15 SAC).With the win, the Drovers improve to 4-1 against the Pioneers this season, and hold a 37-14 advantage against WBU all-time. USAO has emerged victorious in 18 of the last 19 games between the SAC foes since May 9, 2016.USAO's offense has been incredible during the tournament, scoring at least 10 runs in every game so far, for a total of 36 runs.Despite playing on their home field, the Drovers were the visiting team on the scoreboard, and they took the first lead of the game with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning. However, the Pioneers immediately responded with three runs to claim the lead in the bottom of the second. Wayland Baptist extended their lead to 5-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Drovers managed to tie the score at 5-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth.WBU reclaimed the lead with a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth inning, but those would be the final runs that the Pioneers would score.The Drovers rallied for SIX runs in the top of the sixth inning, to take a commanding 11-7 lead. USAO added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning, followed by one more run in the ninth.As a team, the Drovers used 14 hits and seven walks to score their 14 runs. Gabriel Arroyo (SO/Arecibo, Puerto Rico) led the USAO offense with a remarkable performance on Mother's Day. Arroyo finished 4-5 with a double, a homerun, two stolen bases, three runs scored, and four runs batted in. He extended his hit-streak to 10 games, and has tallied 25 hits over the last 16 games. Additionally, Arroyo has driven in 25 runs over that 16-game span. Joey Pena (SR/Mustang, OK) was also sensational, going 3-6 at the plate, and he also threw out two baserunners on attempted steals. Pena added a double and two runs batted in as well.Luis Pelayo (SR/Santa Cruz, Aruba) and Jake Womack (SR/Chickasha, OK) each finished 2-5 at the plate. Pelayo belted a solo-homerun and scored twice, while Womack doubled, scored once, and drove in a pair of runs. Brock Henderson (JR/Chickasha, OK) and Gage Gaunt (SO/Clinton, OK) each tallied a double and scored a run. Henderson finished with one RBI, while Gaunt drove in a pair. Brandon Shumway (SR/Chickasha, OK) concluded 1-4 with a solo-homerun. Luke Lewis (SO/Ft. Cobb, OK) scored once and drove in a run. Sean Craig (SR/Daly City, CA) got the start for the Drovers on the mound and went 4.2 innings. Craig allowed six runs on six hits, and he struck out six batters.Brett Lorah (SR/Elgin, OK) relieved Craig in the fifth inning and earned the win as he went 1.1 innings. Lorah allowed one run on two hits, and he struck out two batters as he improved his record to 7-0 this season. Hagan Earls was superb over the final 3.0 innings of the game. Earls did not allow a run and he struck out five batters, while allowing just one hit. WHAT'S NEXT?The Drovers will take on No. 1 seed Oklahoma City University for the SAC Tournament Championship on Monday, May 9 in at Jim Wade Stadium on the campus of OCU. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 PM CT. Stay up to date on all Science & Arts Athletics news by following us on our media platforms!Athletics Website: www.usaoathletics.comLive-stream: www.sacsportsnetwork.com/usao/YouTube: Drover AthleticsTwitter: @DroverAthleticsFacebook: @DroverAthleticsInstagram: @drover_athleticsGIPHY: www.giphy.com/USAODrovers