OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University knocked off Doane (Neb.) 10-5 on Thursday in the NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket at Jim Wade Stadium.
Chad Carman pounded a two-run home run, while Terrance Jackson improved to 5-0 for the Stars. Second-ranked OCU (44-10) put itself in a 2:30 p.m. contest Friday against 20th-ranked Belhaven (Miss.).
The Stars' Cody Crabaugh notched his third save of the year by striking out Dylan Flott with the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
OCU broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run fifth. Kirk Walker drew a walk to fill the bases, then Julien Pollard drove in two runs by bouncing a single up the middle of the infield. Miguel Beltran cranked a two-run double to right-center field to put the Stars ahead 5-1.
After Doane cut OCU's lead to 5-3, the Stars took advantage of an error to go up 6-3 in the sixth. Ruben Sosa provided OCU a 7-3 advantage on a sacrifice fly.
Thomas Albert sliced the Stars' edge to 7-5 with a two-run base hit in the seventh. OCU answered in the bottom of the eighth as Mark Purser drew a leadoff walk. Carman nailed the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall for his fourth homer of the year. Walker added a sacrifice fly for the final margin.
Beltran, a junior from Long Beach, Calif., went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while Carman, a junior from Midwest City, Okla., was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two runs driven in for the Stars. Sosa, a junior from Lawrence, Mass., was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Pollard, a senior from Tacoma, Wash., went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Jackson, a senior left-hander from Greenville, Ala., fanned five in six innings. Crabaugh, a sophomore righty from Edmond, Okla., struck out two and allowed one hit in the final 2.1 innings.
Chance Brull took the loss. Brull entered the game with an NAIA-low 1.07 earned run average. OCU saddled him with five runs on six hits through five innings.
Boxscore
NAIA Championship Opening Round
Oklahoma City Bracket
At Oklahoma City
Jim Wade Stadium
Thursday's Results
Doane (Neb.) 9, Texas-Brownsville 2
Belhaven (Miss.) 10, Fresno Pacific (Calif.) 9, 10 inn.
Oklahoma City 10, Doane 5
Friday's Games
Game 4: Fresno Pacific vs. Texas-Brownsville, 11 a.m.
Game 5: Belhaven vs. Oklahoma City, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Doane vs. Winner Game 4, 6 p.m.
Saturday's Games
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 8: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 7, 2:30 p.m., championship
Monday's Game
Game 9: If necessary, noon
