ARKADELPHIA – Michael Quinones hit a go-ahead three-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth inning and
Dustin Bermudez earned a three-inning save and hit a homerun of his own to highlight a 9-8 win for the Ouachita Baptist University baseball team over Harding University on Friday at Rab Rodgers Field.
The win gives the Tigers (24-10, 15-7 GAC) a 1-0 lead in the series which plays out on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon.
Ouachita jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first two innings with a pair of run-producing doubles in first inning from
Isaac Nowell and
Wyatt Core, followed in the next inning by a solo homerun from Bermudez, his third of the year.
The Bisons (23-11, 12-10 GAC) posted back-to-back three-run innings in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom half of the sixth, where the Tigers rallied to score four runs, highlighted by a three-run homerun from Quinones that bounced off the scoreboard in right center. It was his sixth homerun of the season. Just prior to his blast, Bermudez collected his second RBI of the game on a double down the left field line.
Bermudez then moved from his shortstop position to the pitching mound in the top of the seventh, where he remained for the rest of the game. He gave up just one run on four hits with three strikeouts in the final nine outs for his sixth save of the season.
The Tigers scored their nine runs on 10 hits in the win, marking the 18th time this season to have double-digits in the hit category. Ouachita is 17-1 this season when getting at least 10 hits.
