Baseball 4/5/2013 10:12:00 PM

OCU takes two from Mid-America Christian

Stars rout Mid-America 19-1, scrape out 4-2 win

Derek Howell improved to 7-1 on the season.

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University blitzed Mid-America Christian 19-1 before squeaking out a 4-2 victory Friday at Jim Wade Stadium.
The Stars pounded five home runs to score a season-high 19 runs in the first game, then used Jonathan Rodriguez's inside-the-park homer for the go-ahead run in the nightcap. OCU, ranked second in NAIA baseball, improved to 32-7, 12-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
In the first game, Jonathan Sigado touched an eight-run second inning by cranking a two-run blast over the left-field wall. Chase Jensen added a three-run shot. OCU batted around in the inning, and Sigado drew a bases-loaded walk. Walker Davidson put the Stars ahead 8-0 with a two-run base hit.
Cody Ferrell grew the OCU lead to 9-0 with an RBI single in the third. Davidson nailed his first homer of the year, a two-run blast to left in the fourth. Rodriguez tacked on a sacrifice fly for a 12-0 OCU advantage.
In the fifth, Dalton Bernardi laced a run-scoring double to left, then Forrest Smith belted a two-run shot over the right-field wall.
Bernardi socked a two-run triple to left in the sixth. Josh Dickey closed out the Stars' scoring with a two-run homer.
Davidson, a senior from Berryhill, Okla., went 3-for-3, scored twice and drove in four runs, while Bernardi, a junior from Choctaw, Okla., and Sigado, a senior from Salem, Ore., each were 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Smith, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif., was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, and Chris Wallis, a junior from Albquerque, N.M., went 2-for-3 with a run scored and his first double of the year.
Derek Howell permitted one hit in four innings pitched while striking out six. Howell, a senior right-hander from Krum, Texas, kept Mid-America from reaching second base, allowing Trent Daniels' single in the second plus two walks. Howell improved to 6-1.
Chad Nelson finished up on the mound for OCU. Nelson, a freshman righty from Edmond, Okla., fanned four in three innings to record his first collegiate save.
In the second game, Rodriguez hammered a drive over the left fielder's head, and the ball lodged itself underneath the wall. By the time J.P. Seifried retrieved the ball, Rodriguez had scored for a 3-2 OCU lead.
Kale Gaden added an RBI double over the center fielder to score Chris Muñoz from second base.
Rodriguez and Muñoz nailed run-scoring singles to put the Stars on top 2-1 in the fourth. Dustin Carlsward tied the game 2-2 with an RBI base hit.
Rodriguez, a junior from Anaheim, Calif., went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs, while Gaden, a senior from Stillwater, Okla., was 1-for-3 with an RBI. Jensen, a senior from Arlington, Texas, was 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Muñoz went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, a run scored and a run driven in.
Cody Crabaugh picked up the victory, moving to 9-1. Crabaugh, a senior righty from Edmond, Okla., went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. Davis Henderson struck out two and retired Mid-America in order in the seventh for his fourth save of the season.
OCU faces Mid-America Christian in a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday on the road.

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