ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University baseball team secured its second straight 30-win season on Saturday with a 10-5 victory over Oklahoma Baptist University at home in the rubber game between the two squads.
The Tigers (30-11, 19-8 GAC) have now won seven of nine Great American Conference series this season and sit in second place in the league with two weeks left in the regular season.
The Bison (22-17, 14-13 GAC) started Saturday's game with a run in the first inning, which was followed by zeros for both teams until the bottom of the fourth when the Tigers evened up the score by taking advantage of an OKB error.
Ouachita took its first lead of the game in the fifth with a four-run rally, highlighted by station-to-station offense. The Tigers scored the go-ahead run on an error, then drew a bases-loaded walk, then scored on a fielder's choice groundout, and finalized the rally by scoring on a balk.
G. Allen gave the Tigers a 6-2 lead in the sixth with a solo homerun to right center, his eighth of the season.
The Bison cut their deficit down to just one run in the seventh inning before being silenced by Tiger closer Dustin Bermudez, who gave up no runs on just two hits with five strikeouts in his three-inning save. It was his eighth save of the season. Bermudez also extended his team-best hitting streak out to 24 straight games with a single in Ouachita's four-run fifth inning rally.
The Tiger offense gave Bermudez some breathing room by using more station-to-station offense with four runs in the final three innings, including a three-run rally in the eighth.
Wyatt Core led the Tiger offense with a 3-for-5, four RBI outing at the plate. Isaac Nowell also had three hits in the win. G. Allen and Jud Arrington each added two hits.
The Tigers scored their 10 runs on 15 hits, marking the 14th game this season to have at least 10 runs and the 22nd game to have at least 10 hits. The 15 hits collected tied for the second-most in game this season.
Luke House (4-3) earned the win with a quality start, giving up just two runs with five strikeouts in the first six innings.
Ouachita is back in action this Tuesday at home for a non-conference doubleheader against the University of Arkansas at Monticello. First pitch for game one is set for 1 p.m. at Rab Rodgers Field.
