SHREVEPORT, La. – Oklahoma City University dropped a pair of contests to ranked competition 5-4 to LSU-Shreveport and 8-7 to Belhaven (Miss.) on Friday at Pilot Field.

The Stars, ranked seventh in NAIA baseball, fell to 0-2.

OCU responded from a four-run deficit to tie the game 4-4 on Miguel Beltran's home run to right field in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Chase Wentz scored the game-winning run on a double steal for 13th-ranked LSU-Shreveport.

In the sixth, Julien Pollard put OCU on the board with an RBI infield hit to score Beltran. Matt Presley cut the Stars' deficit to 4-2 by reaching home on Chad Carman's groundout.

In the seventh, Ruben Sosa tripled to center, then stole home to cut OCU's deficit to 4-3.

Beltran, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., went 2-for-4 and scored twice, while Kirk Walker, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., went 2-for-5 for the Stars. Sosa, a junior from Lawrence, Mass., and Mark Purser, a senior from Spokane, Wash., were each 1-for-3.

Against 12th-ranked Belhaven, OCU took a 6-5 lead with a four-run seventh. Walker had an RBI single, then Beltran clouted a two-run triple. Beltran came home on an error by the shortstop.

Anthony Doss tied the game 6-6 for Belhaven by scoring on Ryan Saunders' grounder.

In the 11th, Carman's infield hit brought home Walker to put OCU ahead 7-6.

Belhaven responded in the bottom of the inning when Tyler Wrinkle scored on Tom Wertz's grounder. Doss' 12th-inning RBI single provided the winning run.

Walker went 2-for-6 with three RBIs, and Sosa was 3-for-7 with two runs scored.

Rich Hawkins, a junior from Edmond, Okla., was saddled with both losses.
OCU faces LSU-Alexandria at noon Saturday in Alexandria, La.
OCU-LSUS Boxscore
OCU-Belhaven Boxscore