McPHERSON, Kan. - For the second time this season, the Oklahoma Panhandle State University baseball team swept a series, this time opening Sooner Athletic Conference action by winning its three-game set on the road last weekend at Central Christian College.  The Aggies (9-11, 3-0 SAC) won Friday's doubleheader 7-0 and 12-9, before taking Saturday's single game from the Tigers, 8-5.
 
In Friday's opener, junior Markus Bracey had a nice game on the mound and with the bat. Bracey threw the shutout – the first of the year for the OPSU team – by going 7.0 innings and scattering five hits. He also struck out seven CCC batters. With the bat, Bracey was 2-for-4, with a double, and scored twice.
 
Rightfielder Jose Santiago was 3-for-4, driving in a run. J.J. Vaught was 2-for-2 - with his first career home run - scored twice and drove in two runs. Luis Rodriguez was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI, a walk and a run scored.  Bryson Hackley laced a triple and drove in a run, as well.
 
Blake Tucker was the winning pitcher in game two, going 5.0 innings and striking out five. Tucker allowed six earned runs, but received enough offensive support from the Aggies to offset that number, benefiting from 11 OPSU runs during his stint.
 
Nicholas Virdo threw a scoreless seventh frame to notch the save. Virdo struck out one.
 
Bracey had the big stick by going 2-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBI. He also scored three times.
 
Junior all-conference catcher Luis Rodriguez was 3-for-5, belting a double and his second home run of the year, good for a pair of runs batted in. Vaught was 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs. Chris Schraer was OPSU's fourth player with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run.
 
In the series finale, the Aggie offense kept rolling, piling up 27 runs in the series. In the Sunday single contest, five Aggie players – Bracey, Santiago, Chris Galvan, Derek Stallworth and Parker Boles – all collected two hits apiece. In all, OPSU had five extra-base hits: two doubles by Galvan, one double each for Santiago and Rodriguez, and a triple by Vaught.
 
Boles and Galvan each had two runs batted in. Bracey, Rodriguez, Stallworth and Vaught each knocked in one run.
 
Joseph Goetze evened his personal record at 2-2 on the season in registering the victory. Goetze went 7.0 innings, did not permit an earned run and struck out six Tigers. He allowed four hits, before handing the ball over to Austin Horak in the eighth.
 
Virdo came on to record the final out of the game to pick up his second save of the weekend and third of the season.
 
"We played Aggie Baseball all weekend," OPSU Head Coach Shawn Joy said. "There are still things we need to improve on, but sweeps are hard to get and especially on the road."