OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University completed the regular season by taking a doubleheader from Rogers State 10-0, 9-1 in a battle of top-25 programs Saturday at Jim Wade Stadium.
OCU, ranked second in NAIA baseball, hit the 40-win mark for the 16th consecutive season and improved to 41-9, 26-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference after the pair of victories. Eighteenth-ranked Rogers State fell to 42-12, 20-10. The Stars head into postseason play with the top seed in the SAC Tournament taking place May 4-7 in Plainview, Texas.
The first game of the day saw the Stars swarm the Hillcats with a six-run fifth inning to get the 10-0 victory in the run-rule game. Miguel Beltran started the fifth with a solo home run over the right-field fence. Beltran, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., notched his team-leading 12th out-of-the-park blast of the season. Chad Carman's single up the middle brought in Matt Presley and forced a pitching change for the Hillcats.
OCU added two runs in the fourth after Sosa reached base on a bunt and an errant fielding play at first allowed Carman to cross the plate. Kirk Walker belted a sacrifice fly to right that allowed Fisher to scamper in for the 4-0 lead.
The second inning produced a movie-worthy memory when Pollard took out a light over the Rogers State dugout and sent the bulb raining on the field. On the next pitch, Pollard slammed a two-run homer to right-center to score OCU's first runs of the day.
Rich Hawkins pitched his third shutout in a row with a three-hit complete-game effort. Hawkins, a junior from Edmond, Okla., leads the Stars with a 1.39 earned run average and a 9-3 record.
The nightcap started with three scoreless innings of action before OCU put up three runs in the fourth. Presley pounded a double that brought in two runs and Austin Messerli punched a single through the left side of the field to bring in Presley.
OCU's fifth inning was highlighted by a 3-run homer off the bat of Presley. Doubles by Dalrymple and Fisher resulted in two more runs for the Stars to put the lead at 9-0. Rogers State scored their only run of the day in the top of the seventh on the last play of the game.
Brandt Barnes reached first on a fielder's choice. A throw home by Kirk Walker wasn't in time to prevent Colton Campbell's run. Dalrymple zinged the ball back to second baseman Fisher to pick off Keith Poverud to end the inning and the game.
OCU's Terrance Jackson and Allen Townsend combined for the one hitter. Jackson, a senior from Greenville, Ala., picked up seven strike outs and walked seven en route to the win. Townsend came in to get the final out of the game for the Stars.
The Stars outhit the Hillcats 25-4 in the pair of games. Heavy hitters for the Stars included a 4-for-5 day for Walker. Dalrymple was 3-for-4 from the plate and Pollard finished the day 3-for-6 with four RBIs. After not managing a hit in the opening game, Presley rebounded with a 2-for-4 performance and drove in five runs in the second.
