BETHANY, Okla. — Oklahoma Panhandle State baseball (12-30, 4-21 SAC) dropped its first game of the weekend to Southwestern Christian University (23-24, 6-19) Friday, as the Aggies were unable to keep up offensively with SCU in a 17-5, eight-inning defeat.
 
The Aggies started off strong in the first inning when Jackson Somerville seized a bases-loaded opportunity with a sacrifice fly that allowed Genesis Nunez to get home.
  
The Eagles came back in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead while the OPSU bats fell silent, and the hosts tacked on with three more before the fifth inning to hold a 6-1 advantage. 
 
Andrew Valencia led off the fifth inning with a base hit before stealing second base as Panhandle State's lineup continued to battle. Nunez got the Aggies back in the contest with a double that scored Valencia, making it 6-2. Following a wild pitch, Devin Lopez got Nunez home on an RBI groundout, cutting the deficit to three.
 
SCU grabbed a commanding 11-3 edge over the next couple frames, and it wasn't until Lopez' RBI double in the seventh that the Aggies scored their fourth run. Trailing 11-4 entering the top of the eighth, David Garcia smashed a ball that cleared the fence for OPSU's lone homer of the day, his fourth of the season.
 
Despite the Aggies' efforts, SCU came out victorious, ending the game with a run-rule, walk-off grand slam that made the final score 17-5. 
 
Zoilo Pimentel joined Lopez with a team-best two hits to fuel OPSU's lineup on the day.
 
What's up next: Oklahoma Panhandle State returns to SCU Saturday for the season-closing doubleheader, set to begin at 12 noon.