Baseball: Drops Doubleheader to Stars on the Road

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. The Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies opened their weekend series against Oklahoma City University with a doubleheader under the Friday night lights at Jim Wade Stadium, falling 6-4 in game one and 11-7 in game two.

Game One: OCU 6, OPSU 4

The Aggies battled but ultimately came up short in the opener despite a three-run fifth inning that cut the deficit to just two. Jackson Somerville put OPSU on the board early with a solo home run in the second, his first season. In the fifth, Ryota Kusumoto roped a two-run double to center field before Isaiah Halton added a sacrifice fly to bring the Aggies within striking distance.

However, theStars'early offensive surge proved too much to overcome. Oklahoma City plated four runs in the third.

Braden Greene (1-7) took the loss on the mound, allowing five runs (four earned) over three innings. Jace Kushner and Zach Mayhew provided solid relief, holding the Stars to just one run over the final three innings.

Kusumoto led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Israel Gandara and Xavier Garcia also collected multi-hit games.

Game Two: OCU 11, OPSU 7

Game two started promising for the Aggies, who jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind an RBIfielder'schoice from Halton and a run-scoring error in the second. However, Oklahoma City responded with a relentless stretch of offense, plating 11 runs over the next three innings. Despite trailing 11-2 entering the sixth, OPSU put together a five-run rally in the frame, taking advantage of timely hitting, a pair of hit-by-pitches, and patient plate appearances. Nick Murphy-Se delivered an RBI single, and Kusumoto capped the inning by taking one off the body to earn his second RBI of the game.

Up Next

The Aggies (10-31) will look to bounce back and avoid the sweep as they wrap up the series against Oklahoma City (15-21) on Saturday afternoon.