GOODWELL, Okla. — The Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball team (8-11, 1-7 SAC) hosted Oklahoma City University (8-14, 5-3 SAC) Friday and earned a split, as the Aggies took the first game 5-4 and fell to the Stars 17-5 in the second. 
 
The opener saw the Aggies take their first conference win of the season, but they were unable to keep up the momentum late in the nightcap when a 12-run sixth inning for OCU broke a 5-5 tie.
 
Game 1: The Aggies kept the Stars scoreless in the first three innings, with equal efforts from their defense as well as from starting pitcher Jean Duran, who picked up four strikeouts in those beginning frames.
 
OPSU started the game with the first run in the first inning, after Jackson Sommerville picked up an RBI on a ground ball that plated Genesis Nunez.
 
The Aggies did much of their damage in the second frame with three of their five total runs being scored, two of which came in on walks. Manuel Bautista and Neugyen Culmer both came around on errors, as Panhandle State capitalized on five walks, a hit batter and aggressive baserunning to grab a 4-0 lead without notching a base hit.
 
OCU crept back into the game in blustery conditions in the top of the fifth inning as Duran battled to find the zone, but reliever Matao Laguna (2-0) got out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a 4-2 lead intact.
 
The hosts tacked on an unearned insurance run in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 5-2, where the score would stay heading into the seventh frame. Things got dicey in the final frame with two hit batsmen and an error, but Laguna struck out the last two batters of the contest, picking up the win and stranding the tying run at third base.
 
Game 2: OPSU fell behind in the scoring race as the Stars scored three runs between the first and third innings, making the score 3-0 OCU entering the bottom of the third. 
 
After Nunez scored on a wild pitch to get the Aggies on the board, Devin Lopez responded with a double to left center that allowed Jim Paredes and Somerville to score the second and third runs for the home team, tying the game at 3-3. Bautista then doubled down the left field line, driving in Lopez and handing the Aggies a leg up going into the fourth inning, 4-3
 
The Stars reclaimed a 5-4 lead following a pair of RBI base knocks in the fifth, but OPSU had an answer yet again. With the bases loaded in the fifth, Bautista plated Israel Gandara on an RBI groundout to send the game to the sixth inning tied, 5-5. 
 
The Aggies struggled to get outs in the sixth inning as the Stars took off with 12 runs, dashing the hosts' hopes of sweeping the doubleheader.  
 
Braden Germundson settled things down in the seventh, tossing a perfect frame with two strikeouts in relief.
 
What's up next: OPSU concludes the series Saturday at 12 noon with the rubber match at Carroll Gribble Field.