SHAWNEE, Okla. – The Ouachita Tigers (4-5 GAC, 8-10 Overall) take on the Oklahoma Baptist University Bison (7-2 GAC, 13-5 Overall) in a three-game series this weekend. Game one is  Friday at 6:00 p.m., while games two and three will be played Saturday with first pitch set for 12:00 p.m.
 
This Season
 
Oklahoma Baptist tops the Great American Conference after three weekends, while Ouachita Baptist sits in a five-way tie for sixth place. The Bison began the 2020 season on a high note, going 11-2 in their first 13 games. They then went on a three-game losing-streak, beginning with the University of Central Oklahoma 9-14 at home on February 25. This past weekend, they continued that losing streak in the first two games against Henderson State University, falling 2-5 and 5-15. However, they are back on track with a two-game win-streak going into this weekend after defeating Henderson 6-0 in game three, and East Central in a midweek game this past Tuesday 7-3.
 
2019 Season
 
In the 2019 season, Oklahoma Baptist finished fifth in the Great American Conference at 20-13, 35-21 overall. The Bison rolled through the GAC Championship Tournament in four straight wins to earn a trip to the NCAA Central Region Championship. In those four wins, they knocked off second-seeded Southern Arkansas 8-2, third-seeded Arkansas Tech 8-5, first-seeded Arkansas at Monticello 11-5, and sixth-seeded Harding 12-3. At the regional, they lost the first game to first-seeded Augustana 10-12, won the next two against fourth-seeded Minnesota State at Mankato and fifth-seeded Arkansas at Monticello, 8-5 and 17-15 respectively, and were eliminated against first-seeded Augustana 6-8.
 
2019 Matchup
 
The Ouachita Tigers went 1-2 against the Bison in the 2019 matchup. In game one, Ouachita prevailed 7-5, but lost game two 6-1. In game three, the Tigers trailed 13-2 and made a huge comeback to knot the game up 13-13 in the bottom of the eighth inning. However, the Bison would put two runs up in the top of the ninth and Ouachita would score one to answer, but drop the game 14-15.
 
Key Pitchers
 
In the opening game against Oklahoma Baptist, the Tigers will likely face Jake Lipetzky. Lipetzky has a 3-2 record and has started every game one opener in a series this season. He boasts a 2.20 ERA in 32.2 innings on the mound and has allowed 14 hits, nine runs (eight earned), 12 walks, and obtained 48 strikeouts.
 
For game two, the Tigers will likely face Raul Rizo, who holds a 4.74 ERA and 3-1 record in 24.2 innings this season. He has 19 runs (13 earned) on 27 hits, 13 walks, and 17 strikeouts.
 
The game three starter is likely Caleb Bly, who has started all but one of the game three matchups in a series this season. Bly has a perfect 4-0 record on the year, sporting a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings. He has given up eight runs (seven earned) on 21 hits, five walks, and 31 strikeouts.
 
Key Hitters
 
As a team, the Bison are hitting .333 and holding their opponent to a .237 average. Kaimana Bartolome is the leading hitter for the Bison this season and the fourth best hitter in the GAC with a .430 batting average. He also leads the league in doubles with 13, at bats with 79, total bases with 68, runs batted in with 32, and runs scored with 23. Bartolome is in second place in other categories: home runs with 7 and slugging percentage at .861.
 
Oklahoma Baptist has their next six batters with an above .300 average. Their names and offensive stats are below:
 

• Hector Ruvalcaba – .365 average, 23 for 63, 15 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, seven RBI's, .508 slugging percentage, five walks, and six strikeouts.
• Colin Prince – .364 average, 16 for 44, nine runs scored, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, 17 RBI's, .614 slugging percentage, five walks, and seven strikeouts.
• Ramon Gomez – .362 average, 25 for 69, 20 runs scored, eight doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI's, .739 slugging percentage, seven walks, and nine strikeouts.
• Ramon Enriquez - .353 average, 24 for 68, 22 runs scored, eight doubles, one triple, three home runs, 15 RBI's, .632 slugging percentage, 12 walks, and 20 strikeouts.
• Joey Pledger – .343 average, 23 for 67, 18 runs scored, eight doubles, four home runs, 17 RBI's, .642 slugging percentage, six walks, and 17 strikeouts.
• Cliff Pradd – .304 average, 21 for 69, 19 runs scored, eight doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI's, .594 slugging percentage, eight walks, and 22 strikeouts.

 
Follow along this weekend with the live broadcast at https://obubison.com/watch/?Archive=371&type=Live
 
For live stats of the games, follow along at the link below:
https://obubison.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary