OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University dropped its second conference game of the season to Mid-America Christian 8-7 on a blustery spring afternoon Friday at Jim Wade Stadium.
The Stars, ranked third in NAIA baseball, fell to 34-7, 21-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference after the loss to the unranked Evangels.
OCU tied the game at 6-6 after Miguel Beltran nailed a deep home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the sixth. Beltran, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., belted his 10th of the season and picked up his 50th RBI for the Stars this year.
The Evangels leapt back into the lead when a costly fielding error by Beltran extended the eighth inning and allowed two runs to cross the plate. After OCU's defense forced a three-up, three-down top of the ninth, the score was 8-6 heading into the final at bat.
The Stars rallied to get within one run in the bottom of the ninth when Scott Dalrymple singled to bring in Ruben Sosa. Dalrymple busted the 0-2 pitch with two outs up the middle and into center to bring up pinch hitter Austin Messerli. Messerli walked to load the bases for catcher Chad Carman. The rally was halted when Carman, a senior from Midwest City, Okla., flew out to right on the first pitch he faced to end the inning and the game.
Mid-America got on the board first in the contest with one in the top of the first. OCU answered with two in the second when Mark Purser and Sosa both belted RBI singles to give the Stars their only lead of the night.
Both squads put up three runs each in the fifth. Mid-America Christian poked in two runs to force an OCU pitching change. Cody Crabaugh came in for the Stars and walked in a run before striking out Joe Moore to end the inning with the bases loaded and the score at 6-2.
OCU tallied its three after Evangels pitcher Sean Sanders gave up two hits and two walks get the Stars their first run of the inning. The Stars capitalized on a fielding error by second baseman Emmanuel Jiminian to get two more across the plate and set the score at 6-5.
Six Stars had multiple-hit games from the plate. Sosa finished the outing 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run for the Stars. Purser, Walker and Dalrymple also recorded two hits each. Dearth Parker finished at 3-for-5 from the plate and Beltran ended the night 3-for-6.
OCU stranded 18 on the base paths, leaving base runners aboard in every inning of the game. Crabaugh, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs and five hits while striking out seven batters in 4.1 innings of work.
The strong winds that were a steady 25 miles per hour from the WNW gusted to near 50 mph to wreck havoc on the players and the field, even dislodging a sign from the left field fence and tearing the left field nets.
OCU plays the series rubber match with Mid-America at 2 p.m. Saturday at Jack Allen Field in Oklahoma City.
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