NAIA

[Baseball] No. 3 USAO Hangs on for Ninth Consecutive Win

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Thursday afternoon, the No. 3 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (11-1, 1-0 SAC) opened conference play with a thrilling 9-8 victory at Mid-America Christian University (14-6, 0-1 SAC). The victory extended the Drovers' win-streak to nine games, and over that stretch USAO has outscored its opponents 92-22. The Drovers got off to a quick start, scoring one run in the top of the first inning. The score remained 1-0 until the Evangels scored four in the bottom of the second inning. USAO was able to tie the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run, two-out rally. The score remained tied at four apiece until the top of the sixth inning when the Drovers took the lead on a sacrifice squeeze from Brock Henderson (SO/Chickasha, OK). USAO added another insurance run in the top half of the inning off of an error, extending the lead to 6-4. In the top of the seventh inning, USAO added one more insurance run before allowing a solo-homer for MACU in the bottom of the seventh. The Drovers scored their final two runs of the game in the top of the ninth inning off of a pair of MACU errors. Despite trailing 9-5 in the bottom of the ninth, MACU still had fight left in them, scoring three runs in the inning, but it was too little, too late for the Evangels. Despite having a rocky fourth inning, Jean Muntaner (SR/Carolina, Puerto Rico) was fantastic on the mound for USAO. The senior went 8.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits, and he struck out a career-high of 14 batters to improve his record to 2-1 this season. Offensively, USAO was led by Ian Laureano (SR/Toa Baja, Puerto Rico)'s and Luis Pelayo (SR/Santa Cruz, Aruba)'s two-hit performances. Laureano concluded 2-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs scored, while Pelayo went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and one run batted in. Colton Bensch (SO/Mustang, OK) contributed a 1-for-4 performance that included a 2-RBI double, and a run scored. Cristian Laboy (SR/Yabucoa, Puerto Rico) finished 1-for-3 with a walk, run scored, and a run batted in. Joey Pena (JR/Mustang, OK) contributed a 1-for-2 clip that included a walk, RBI, and two runs scored. Gus Wilson (JR/Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada) went 1-for-4 with a run scored in the win. The Drovers will look to extend their win-streak on Friday, February 28 when they host MACU for a double-header. First-pitch for game one is scheduled for 4:00 PM at Bill Smith Ballpark.