OKlahoma City, Okla. - The Tiger baseball team was back in action this past weekend to take on the Oklahoma City University Stars in a big series for the Tigers in order to keep pace with competition for a spot in the conference tournament.
Game 1, W 5-4
Game 1 had some back-and-forth action early on in a single 9 inning game to kick off the series. The Stars scored first in the 1st inning, in the 3rd the Tigers responded with a 2 run Kurt Ippolito homerun. Bo Daniel followed up with a solo homerun in the 4th to extend the Tiger lead. But the stars responded in that same inning with a 2-run homer of their own to regain the lead. In the 6th, Bo Daniel hit another homerun to tie things up followed by a sacrifice flyout by Kurt Ippolito in the 7th to put the Tigers in front 5-4. Freshman Braden Young pitched 3.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to shut down the Stars attempts at a comeback and earn his first win of the season in a 5-4 Tigers series opening win.
Game 2, W 10-2
It was all Tigers in game 2 of the series the next day, right out of the gate the Tiger offense was firing with a Kurt Ippolito 2 run homerun and Bo Daniel's 3rd homerun of the series to take an early 3-0 lead. The offense would tack on a couple more runs in the 2nd and 3rd inning to give starting pitcher Nick Julian a big lead. Julian had all of his stuff working as he went 6 innings with only 1 run allowed and 9 strikeouts. The Tigers scored 5 more runs in the 5th inning to blow the game wide open and the Stars had no answer for a comeback as the Tigers cruised to a 10-2 win and clinched a series win.
Game 3, W 15-7
The Tigers had already taken the series, but securing a sweep was extremely vital for the Tigers due to the result of another conference series over the weekend. The Tigers saw themselves in a hole quickly as the Stars tagged Nick Clayson for 5 runs in the first inning and 2 in the 2nd inning. But the Tiger offense didn't panic and began to chip away with 2 runs in the 2nd inning on a single from Mason Bowden, 2 more in the 4th inning, and then 3 in the 5th inning on a balk by the Stars pitcher and a 2 RBI single from James Perales, tying the game at 7 runs a piece. The Tigers now had all the momentum and ran with it, scoring 5 more runs in a huge 6th inning that included a bases clearing Kurt Ippolito double, another RBI single from James Perales, and a Bo Daniel 3 run homer which marked his 4th of the series! The Stars didn't score anymore runs despite a hot start thanks to 5.2 scoreless innings pitched by the Tiger bullpen as the Tigers completed a sweep of the series in blowout fashion.
The Tigers now sit at 14-20 (6-12) and are in a great spot as they sit just 1 game behind the Stars for a conference tournament spot. They will host College of the Ozarks this week who are just 2 games ahead of the Tigers in the standings. The games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday but could be moved up to Thursday and Friday due to weather. Stay tuned into social media for updates on game changes. All games will be streamed live on the SAC Sports Network!
