OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University pushed out to an early lead and held on for an 11-7 victory over Rogers State on Thursday evening at Jim Wade Stadium.
The Stars, ranked third in NAIA baseball, pounded out 13 hits in the game, and improved to 24-6, 9-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Stars have won seven games in a row.

OCU strung together six consecutive hits in the first inning to build a 3-0 lead. Steve Vitale ripped a single up the middle to score two runs and give OCU a 2-0 advantage. Nate Bryan followed with a double down the left-field line to score Vitale.

The Stars plated two more runs in the bottom of the second. Matt Presley recorded his team-leading 52nd RBI of the season with a single to the right side, then Vitale was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to increase the OCU lead to 5-0.

Mark Purser ripped a three-RBI triple down the left-field line to cap a four-run sixth inning and give the Stars a 10-3 advantage.  Purser, a junior from Spokane, Wash., finished the game 2-for-5 with four runs driven in.

Bryan, a junior from Andrews, Texas, recorded three hits, including two doubles and two RBIs to lead the way for OCU. Vitale, a senior East Meadow, N.Y., went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Dustin Williams scattered five runs on five hits over 6.1 innings of work to earn his sixth victory of the season. Williams, a senior from Norman, Okla., struck out eight and walked seven.

Brad Riddle tossed 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. Phillip Stewart recorded the final out of the eighth inning, followed by an inning of scoreless relief from Purser in the ninth.

The Stars travel to Claremore, Okla. for a doubleheader with Rogers State on Saturday beginning 2 p.m.
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