GOODWELL, Okla. — Back on its home diamond at Carroll Gribble Field, the Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball team (7-4) got stellar pitching performances from its day-two arms to complete a four-game sweep of Randall (4-6) Friday, winning 7-2 and 5-3.
 
The pair of victories extended OPSU's winning streak to six games, the program's longest since 2019.
 
Game 1: Freshman Adam Hinojosa (2-0) again showed why he's been given an opportunity to start for the Aggies, as he tossed another gem, going six innings and striking out 10 Saints.
 
Randall got on the board first on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, but the Aggies answered right back with a double off the bat of Israel Gandara and a pair of singles from Alejandro Hernandez and Juan Perez.
 
With OPSU still leading 2-1 through five frames, the Saints took advantage of an error to tie the game at 2-2 in the sixth. Panhandle State had a big response in the bottom of the frame, though, beginning with a one-out single from Philip Matos and a walk drawn by Devin Lopez. Neugyen Culmer then notched the go-ahead RBI single, but the party was just getting started.
 
Julian Payan came through with a clutch pinch-hit, two-run double, and the line kept moving with singles from Gandara and Andrew Valencia. Hernandez capped the scoring with a sac fly, extending the Aggie lead to 7-2 going into the final inning.
 
Matao Laguna shut the door with a scoreless seventh, securing a series win for the home team.
 
Game 2: Jace Kushner (1-0) took the mound in the finale, and he started his outing with three consecutive shutout innings to give the hosts' bats a chance to heat up.
 
The Aggies were able to strike for two runs with a pair of doubles to left-center field, hit by Hernadez and Juan Perez.
 
Randall got one run back in the fourth inning on an RBI single, and it would go on to use three singles and an error to tie the game at 3-3 in the fifth frame.
 
The tie would be broken rapidly, however, as OPSU answered on Culmer's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth.
 
Kushner got out of a jam in the sixth inning to record a final line of six frames tossed with four strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed, and the starter was rewarded when Genesis Nunez sent a ball over the centerfield fence in the home half of the frame, making it 5-3.
 
Left-hander Braden Germundson came on for a save opportunity in the seventh, and he converted it with a hitless inning of work.
 
What's up next: OPSU begins conference play next week, hosting Texas Wesleyan (11-1) for a three-game series from Feb. 20-21.