Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 Goodwell, Okla.—Aggie Baseball opened Heartland Conference play this weekend and earned a big win over the undefeated Lions from the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
 
Like the OPSU Softball team, the Aggie men were unable to play on their home field on Saturday and were grateful to Gruver High School for use of their wonderful facilities at Greyhound Ballpark. Fortunately the ground dried up enough for them to finish out the three-game series back in Goodwell on Sunday where the Aggies took a big win over UAFS.
 
After taking two losses Saturday in Gruver (10-13, 2-12), the Aggies were geared up in front of a home crowd Sunday and came away with a five-run win over the Lions to earn their first Heartland Conference victory of the season (8-3). Senior Zack Tingen got the start on the mound and went 4.1 innings giving up five hits and three earned runs with one strikeout. The runs started coming through in the second inning as UAFS opened scoring off of a single with two on base that brought in one RBI. The Aggies answered with three runs at the bottom of the inning, all three brought in by walked batters.
 
Tingen held the Lions scoreless through one out in the fifth when he was relieved by sophomore Scott Cutright. Cutright served up three strikeouts in 2.2 innings and was followed up by B.J. Henry who finished out the final two innings with zero hits, zero runs and one strikeout. The Aggies went on to score one run in the sixth thanks to a home run off the bat of Chris McClendon. A big eighth inning brought in four runs for the Aggies to seal the deal on the win. Payton Osbon did his job bringing in a run on a sacrifice fly to centerfield; Sam Moreno smacked a double down the right field line for two RBI; and Nick Crosswhite brought in the final run on a single to left. Cutright earned the win for OPSU and Henry got the save.
 
In Saturday's game one the Aggies stretched out seven innings in two and a half hours of action-packed baseball. Only one inning went scoreless as both teams battled at the plate from start to finish. OPSU took a one-run lead in the bottom of the fourth with two runs scored. Fort Smith came back with three runs at the top of the fifth and held the Aggies with zero runs to close out the inning. Each team brought in two runs in the sixth with Crosswhite knocking a homer for two RBI. The Lions got through with three runs at the top of the seventh and owned a 13-8 lead. Three wild pitches in a row scored one run for the Aggies, and Nick Zieniuk brought in the last OPSU run on a single to left field. Walker Rainwater took the loss on the mound after four innings; he gave up nine hits and eight runs with one strikeout. Brett Nasello came in for two innings of work allowing four hits and two runs and Brayden Schuler pitched the final inning with two hits for three runs. Wayde Roth earned his fifth win for the Lions.
 
Hasten Freeman was the starting pitcher for UAFS in game two on Saturday and earned the win after five innings of work. Freeman held the Aggies to two hits and two runs and sat down eight batters with strikeouts. For the Aggies, Sam Beattie opened at pitcher and stayed for 3.1 innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs; Beattie tossed four strikeouts, sending the first three Lion batters back to the dugout. The Aggies were down 4-0 going into the bottom of the fourth inning and came through with one run as Crosswhite reached base on a walk, advanced to second on a passed ball, went to third on a wild pitch and came through on a sac fly by Collin Smith. The second Aggie run was scored by Lucas Ogaz who hit a double to left and was brought in by Zieniuk with a single down the line. The Lions came through with two runs in the sixth and ended the game early with three runs in the seventh, reaching the ten-run rule with a score of 12-2. Beattie took the loss for OPSU and was relieved by freshmen Adrian Lopez and Dallas Guerrero. Lopez went one inning with three hits and three runs and Guerrero threw two strikeouts in his 2.2 innings on the mound; he allowed four hits and five runs.
 
The Aggies are now 2-15 on the season and 1-2 in the Heartland Conference. They totaled 24 hits for the series with five doubles and two home runs. The pitching crew tossed 13 strikeouts against UAFS. Sam Moreno went two for two with two RBI to lead the Aggies in slugging percentage (2.000). Crosswhite and Zieniuk led the team with five RBI apiece.
 
OPSU Baseball will travel to Wichita, Kan. this week to continue conference play against Newman University. They begin with a doubleheader on Friday, March 13 starting at 2 p.m. and conclude with game three on Saturday at 1 p.m.