SHAWNEE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University prevailed 6-3 over Oklahoma Baptist on Friday at Bison Field at Ford Park in the series pitting teams ranked in the top five of NAIA baseball.
Allen Townsend, a junior from San Diego, notched the complete-game victory for the No. 1-ranked Stars. OCU picked up the series win in moving to 29-3, 18-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while fourth-rated Oklahoma Baptist dropped to 26-7, 11-3 in SAC play.
Townsend (6-0) scattered 10 hits, holding Oklahoma Baptist to three runs – two earned – while walking one and striking out four in nine innings. Townsend logged 125 pitches in his team-high fourth complete-game performance of the year.
Oklahoma Baptist left the bases loaded twice against Townsend. In the second inning, Alan Trayler filled the bases after being hit by pitch to follow Jonathan Gelpi's and Terrence Buchanan's singles. Townsend retired Brendan Davis on a flyout to right field to end the inning.
In the fourth, Michael Sliger walked to load the bases. Gelpi led off the inning with a home run, then Buchanan bunted his way on while Davis reached on an error. Townsend fanned Anthony Lopez to retire the side. Townsend stranded 10 Oklahoma Baptist runners.
Townsend retired eight consecutive batters from the sixth to the eighth. In the ninth, OCU turned a 6-4-3 double play, then Townsend got Davis to ground out to shortstop Kirk Walker to end the contest.
Gelpi's homer put Oklahoma Baptist up 3-2 in the fourth. OCU responded in the fifth as Walker belted a two-out double to the left-center field gap to score Ruben Sosa.
The Stars took the lead for good in the seventh. Sosa bunted, and the catcher Mitchell Prophet committed a throwing error to allow Mark Purser to score the go-ahead run. Walker had a sacrifice fly, then Julien Pollard nailed a run-scoring double to left.
OCU scored its first run on Miguel Beltran's RBI groundout in the fourth. Scott Dalrymple flew out to left to bring in a run and tie the game 2-2.
Sosa, a junior from Lawrence, Mass., went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a stolen base, while Dalrymple, a senior from Beaverton, Ore., was 1-for-3 with a run driven in for the Stars.
Walker, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., went 1-for-4 with two RBIs. Walker added OCU's career at-bat record to his program marks for career hits and runs scored. Walker has 790 career at-bats to surpass Matt Dehner, who played for OCU from 1996-99.
The Stars complete the series against Oklahoma Baptist at 2 p.m. Saturday at Jim Wade Stadium.
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