Goodwell, Okla. – The Central Christian College of Kansas Tiger Baseball team opened SAC play in Oklahoma facing the Oklahoma Panhandle State Aggies. The game was originally scheduled to be played in McPherson but they had to change venue due to snow and ice in McPherson. So the Tigers were the home team for their series in Goodwell over the weekend.
Game 1, W 8-7
The Tigers had no issue getting their bats going as they struck for 5 runs in the first two innings.
Iker Muniz laced a single to center scoring
Kurt Ippolito to give the Tigers a lead. Noel Aquino added to the scoring in the 1
st with a 2-rbi double. After an error and a fielder's choice, the Tigers extended their lead to 5-0.
Nick Julian got the start for the Tigers and went 6 2/3 innings allowing 7 runs and walking 4 while striking out 4 Aggies. All tied in the bottom 7
th inning with two outs, the Aggies proceeded to walk two Tigers and hit another to put the winning run 90 feet away.
Mason Dean stepped in and with a full count was hit by a pitch that allowed the winning run to come across.
Game 2, W 15-3
Central started game two where they left off,
James Perales launched a 3-run homerun to right field to give the Tigers an early 3-0 lead. The Aggies responded with 2 runs of their own but Central clawed back in the bottom of the 2
nd as
Kurt Ippolito got ahold of one and hit the Tigers 2
nd 3-run homerun of the game. The Tigers extended their lead to 8-3 in the 4
th as there were some defensive miscues by OPSU. Nick Clayson was called upon to start the game and had a solid outing going 4 2/3 innings allowing 3 runs, walking 3 and striking out 3.
Matt Gorham came on in relief and did a great job to shut the door for the Tigers. Gorham pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out two. The Tigers poured it on in the 5
th inning with a
Bo Daniel grand slam to extend the lead to 15-3. This was all the Tigers would need to secure the win and the series win.
Game 3, L 17-12
The Tigers looked to go for the sweep in game 3 but the Aggies wouldn't go down without a fight. The Aggies struck for 8 runs in the 2
nd inning to break the game open. The Tigers fought back with a big inning of their own in the 5
th inning, scoring 5 runs with 3 of them coming on another
Kurt Ippolito homerun. The Aggies scored 5 more in the ninth to extend their lead to 17-12 and this is where the game would finish.
After the series win, the Tigers move to 9-9 (2-1) on the year. Next up for the Tigers, they travel to Moore, Oklahoma to face Randall University on Tuesday, February 25
th. First pitch is set for 2:00pm.
