ARKADELPHIA – A five-run first inning for the Reddies in game one of the weekend series between cross-street rivals Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University proved to be too much of a deficit for the Tigers to overcome in a 6-5 loss on Friday at Rab Rodgers Field.
Due to rain in the forecast for Saturday, games two and three of the series have been pushed back a day and will now be played on Sunday, April 30 with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
Ouachita started its comeback attempt with a solo homerun by
Dustin Bermudez on the first pitch of the bottom of the first inning, which was his ninth round-tripper of the year. The Reddies (29-19, 20-11 GAC) answered with a solo homerun of their own in the top of the second to score their final run of the game.
Tiger starter
Cooper Timmons, who allowed the six runs in the first two innings, settled and put up three zeros in the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Relivers
Cameron Marchant and Bermudez kept the zeros going in the final 3.1 innings, allowing only one Reddie hit each.
Meanwhile, the Tigers turned to
Wyatt Core for the team's final four runs. The sophomore right fielder had an RBI single in the bottom of the third, hit a two-run homerun in the fifth, and then beat out a throw to first base on a double play attempt for an RBI fielder's choice in the sixth, which put Ouachita within one run of tying the game.
Ouachita had opportunities to score the tying or potential go-ahead runs in each of the final three innings, but HSU reliever Henry Coppens worked out of the jam each time to earn his third save of the season.
