OKLAHOMA CITY – Wayland Baptist (Texas) took the third game of its series with Oklahoma City University 9-5 on Saturday at Jim Wade Stadium.
Brad Riddle broke the OCU career record for appearances with his 96th as a Star. OCU, ranked eighth in NAIA baseball, dipped to 39-12, 21-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Riddle, a senior right-hander from Bethany, Okla., surpassed the mark set by Jeff McLaughlin in 2003-06. Riddle worked two innings, struck out two and allowed a hit and three walks Saturday. Riddle stranded two Wayland Baptist runners in the seventh and eighth innings.
The NAIA career appearances record stands at 105 set by Hayden Lackey of Texas Wesleyan.
“The fact that he's able to break that record shows how consistent he's been over the four years he's been here,” OCU coach Denney Crabaugh said of Riddle. “He's been a go-to guy. He's someone we've counted on since his freshman year. He's going to go out and give you the best he's got. He's going to go challenge people. He wants to be the guy on the mound when the game's on the line. You're going to get his best effort. He knows what it means to be a part of this program and the pride involved.”
Wayland Baptist built an 8-2 lead through the top of the fifth inning. Jose Santiago had a two-run base hit in the third inning to put Wayland up 4-2.
In the fifth, Kevin Hennessey had a run-scoring hit, then Santiago drove in two more runs with a single. Josh Lucas made it 8-2 on a single to right field.
Brian Fisher had an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth for the Stars. Pedro Gomez had an RBI groundout in the sixth to give Wayland Baptist a 9-3 advantage.
Steve Vitale pummeled a solo home run over the left-field wall in the seventh for OCU. Mark Purser hit into a sacrifice fly in the eighth for the final margin.
Fisher, a sophomore from Spring, Texas, went 3-for-4 with a run scored, two RBIs and a solo homer in the second. Matt Presley went 2-for-2 and drew two walks, and Terrance Jackson had an RBI single.
Mike Richard fell to 8-3 on the year.
“We have to get better in a lot of phases,” Crabaugh said. “We want to build momentum going into the playoffs. We're playing the three toughest teams we'll play in the conference to finish the regular season. It prepares us for the playoffs. We have to rise to the occasion, get ourselves better and create that momentum that's going to carry us through the playoffs.”
The Stars face Southern Nazarene at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Bethany, Okla.
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