2012 NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket

Baseball 5/14/2012 4:43:00 PM

OCU ousts Sterling 3-0

Third-ranked Stars win NAIA Baseball Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket

OCU makes its fifth consecutive NAIA World Series appearance and 14th in program history.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University sewed up its fifth consecutive trip to the NAIA World Series with a 3-0 triumph over Sterling (Kan.) on Monday at Jim Wade Stadium.
The third-ranked Stars (47-10) captured their fourth consecutive NAIA Baseball Championship Opening-Round Tournament title. OCU, host Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and the nine Opening-Round champions make the NAIA World Series on May 25-June 1 at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho.
OCU made program history with its fifth consecutive NAIA World Series berth. OCU has made the NAIA World Series 14 times – 1986, 1988, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and now, 2012.
The Stars made four consecutive appearances in the national-title game from 2002-05, breaking through with the national championship in 2005. OCU owns the most wins in college baseball since 1991.
OCU worked its way through the losers bracket for the first time in the four-year history of the Opening Round format. The Stars ousted a group that included 19th-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas) and 25th-ranked Sterling.
Pairings for the NAIA World Series will be released later Monday.
“We had our backs against the wall,” OCU catcher Chad Carman said. “We've run our way through each of the tournaments in the past. We battled our way back this time around. Words can't describe it. It gives us a whole new belief in ourselves.”
Blake Schwartz notched his second win in the tournament for OCU. The Stars pitching staff completed a tournament where their starters failed to allow an earned run in 39.1 innings. Schwartz struck out 14 in 13 innings during the tournament.
Schwartz, a senior right-hander from Rosemount, Minn., fanned seven, allowed five hits and a walk in six scoreless innings. Davis Henderson worked two shutout innings before permitting two Sterling runners in the ninth. Patrick Goelz struck out the side with those runners on to record his eighth save.
The Stars had a 0.60 earned run average in 45 innings pitched, allowing 19 hits and 10 walks while striking out 41 as a team in the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket.
Sterling had two runners reach second base Monday.
“Our pitching staff was unbelievable,” Carman said. “Cody Crabaugh had four pitches working Sunday, while Ryan Gibson threw three pitches for strikes. Rich Hawkins is Rich Hawkins. Blake Schwartz did the same thing today. They make my job easy. I've never seen a pitching staff come together like that.”
The Stars scored in the third inning when Miguel Beltran laced a two-out double to the left-center gap to score Brayden Brumley, running for Carman, from first base. Carman singled to left with two out.
Jonathan Sigado put OCU up 2-0 with a base hit to right-center field to score Beltran, who led off the inning with a single. Hawkins laid down a sacrifice bunt to bring Dane Phillips home from third.
OCU had 11 hits against Sterling. Beltran, a senior from Long Beach, Calif., went 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, while Phillips, a junior from Nacogdoches, Texas, went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Carman, a senior from Midwest City, Okla., went 2-for-4.
Sigado, a junior from Salem, Ore., went 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Hawkins, a senior from Edmond, Okla., was 1-for-3 with a run driven in.
Carman led the OCU offense during the Opening Round. Carman went 10-for-22 to hit .455 with a double and a home run. Phillips chipped in an 8-for-19 performance for a .421 batting clip, a double, homer and four RBIs.
Kale Gaden, Beltran, Phillips and Sigado tied for the team lead with four RBIs each during the NAIA Championship Opening Round Oklahoma City Bracket. Gaden, a junior from Stillwater, Okla., homered twice.
Boxscore

NAIA Championship Opening Round
Oklahoma City Bracket
At Jim Wade Stadium
Thursday's Results
Mount Marty (S.D.) 8, York (Neb.) 7
Sterling (Kan.) 9, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 8
Oklahoma City 12, Mount Marty 3
Saturday's Results
Lubbock Christian 6, York 2, York eliminated
Sterling 2, Oklahoma City 1
Lubbock Christian 11, Mount Marty 1, Mt. Marty eliminated
Sunday's Results
Oklahoma City 4, Lubbock Christian 0, LCU eliminated
Oklahoma City 7, Sterling 0
Monday's Result
Championship
Oklahoma City 3, Sterling 0

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