Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 San Antonio, Texas—The Aggies picked up a big road win this week earning a 6-5 victory in game two over St. Mary's University, last year's conference co-champions. In a close game one the Aggies fell 3-4 to the Rattlers and took a run-rule loss (4-25) in game three.

The Rattlers were pre-season picks to finish second in the league and held a 14-12 overall record prior to the three-game series against OPSU Wednesday and Thursday. The Aggies entered the series at 4-20 on the season, after taking a two-game loss in Austin to Huston-Tillotson University on Tuesday, where they fell 6-11 and 5-9 to the Rams.

OPSU pitchers Dallas Guerrero and Logan Litton each took losses to HTU as the starters in Tuesday's games. Guerrero held 11 hits and nine earned runs in 2.1 innings of work and Litton gave up all nine runs (five earned) on nine hits in 3.2 innings. The Aggies totaled 16 hits and three errors in the series. Joseph Cerda, Cody Dion and Austin Beckner each had one hit and one RBI in game one; and James Beasley, Payton Osbon and Ivan Silva led at the plate in game two. Beasley went two of four with two RBI and scored one run; he hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Osbon and Silva each went two of three and combined for three RBI; Silva hit the only double for the Aggies, also in the first inning.

Samuel Beattie got the start in game one at St. Mary's on Wednesday and allowed zero hits through the first three innings of the game. The Aggies were also held scoreless through three. Ivan Silva then scored the first run of the day in the top of the fourth gaining bases on three singles. Beattie gave up one run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but allowed zero runs to score. OPSU held a 1-0 lead until the Rattlers rallied for four runs in the fifth. A throwing error scored the first run, followed up with a two-run triple and an RBI single. The Aggies battled back, but could only muster two runs in the remaining innings. Sliva crossed home again in the sixth, after reaching on a lead-off single, stealing second and scoring on an error. Beattie kept the Rattlers quiet in the sixth giving the Aggies an opportunity to pull ahead. With two outs and two runners on base, Osbon hit a single to score Derek Stallworth for the final OPSU run; the third out came with the next batter. Beattie took his fourth loss in six innings with zero earned runs; he threw seven strikeouts in 27 batters faced.

In Tuesday's second game it was Adrian Lopez who started off on the mound for OPSU. Lopez went 7.1 innings and, after giving up three runs on two hits in the first inning, allowed only one run to score during the remainder of his time on the bump. The Aggies opened up with a run in the top of the first inning as Osbon scored on an RBI double by Cerda. St. Mary's held the 3-1 lead through the third inning. Silva led off the fourth with a single and then advanced on a wild pitch. Cerda was walked, Dehryen Noriega took base on an error and Cody Dion hit s sac fly with bases loaded to bring in Silva. Stallworth then reached on a fielder's choice to bring in Cerda on the tying run (3-3).

An RBI single pulled the Rattlers ahead by one run (4-3) in the bottom of the fourth and St.Mary's held the lead through the eighth inning. On one out in the top of the ninth, Juan Rubayo was walked to first; James Beasley stepped in to pinch hit and drove a double sending Rubayo to third base. Rubayo then crossed home as an outfield error pushed the runners forward. After a pitching change by the Rattlers, Cerda was walked intentionally loading the bases with two outs. Noriega hit a single to score two and send the Aggies ahead 6-4 going into the bottom half of the ninth inning. St. Mary's took one run in the final inning with two outs; Perez struck out the next batter to earn the win for OPSU, his second of the season.

The Rattlers struck first in game three on Thursday scoring four runs in the opening inning off two, two-run homers. The Aggies' starting pitcher Jordan Ankrum was taken for six hits and eight runs (six earned) in his 2.2 innings on the mound. St. Mary's racked up nine runs in the third to take a 13-0 lead over OPSU going into the top of the fourth. An RBI single by Stallworth and a sacrifice bunt by Rubayo put the Aggies on the board with two runs, but St. Mary's was not rattled and returned with five runs in the bottom of the inning. The top of the fifth saw two more runs come through for the Aggies on a triple by Ivan Silva followed by a wild pitch. However, six hits led to seven runs for St. Mary's in the bottom of the fifth which helped seal the deal on a seven-inning early ending to the matchup. Five pitchers saw playing time in game three, but Ankrum ended up with the loss for OPSU. Seventeen hits produced 25 runs for the Rattlers with four doubles and three home runs hit in the game. The Aggies had eight hits including one triple and committed four fielding errors.

OPSU Baseball Head Coach Jason Miner commented on the St. Mary's series saying, "We played two great baseball games on Wednesday; our guys really played well. Sam [Beattie] pitched a great game with one unfortunate inning. We put forth great team effort in game two to take the lead for the win. Thursday was a different story."

The Aggies now hold a 5-24 season record and sit 1-8 in conference play. The team will enjoy a weekend off before taking to the road Tuesday to take on Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Okla. They return to host a Heartland Conference series against Texas A&M-International on April 1-2. Military Appreciation Day will be Saturday, April 2 with a ceremonial first pitch at Noon.