ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita baseball team opened its weekend home Great American Conference series against Southern Nazarene on Friday with a 14-4 run-rule victory in game one.
Game two of Friday's double header, the scheduled seven-inning game of the series, was suspended due to darkness at the start of the top of the eighth inning with the score tied 6-6. The contest will resume on Saturday at noon and will be followed by game three of the series.
In the opener, the Tigers scored their season-high 14 runs off nine hits and took advantage of 11 walks and two hit batters. The mercy rule kicked in with four runs in the bottom of the eighth for the Tigers on three bases-loaded walks and ending with
Reece McWilliams getting hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the final run.
The Tigers had another four-run rally back in the sixth inning on four hits including a two-run single from
Garrett Graham and an RBI single by
David Bull, who started Ouachita's scoring with a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning. The Tigers had another two-run frame in the second and put up single runs in each of the third and fourth innings, highlighted by an RBI double from
Connor Hill.
Bull,
Joseph Bolin,
Cade Bowman, and
Jaren Ceasar all had two hits in the win.
The offensive showcase was matched by the pitching of Tiger starter
Reece Tarini (2-2), who turned in a quality start with just one earned run allowed on six hits with six strikeouts in the first seven innings.
