GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Oklahoma City University's rally fell short in a 5-3 loss to Texas Wesleyan in a showdown of two of the top teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference baseball standings Friday at the Ballpark at Grand Prairie.
Joe Haddox had a two-out ninth-inning RBI single to cut OCU's deficit to two runs. The Stars, ranked 13th in the NAIA, went to 31-13, 12-4 in the SAC, while Texas Wesleyan improved to 29-14, 12-4 in the SAC.
Oklahoma City entered the game with the lead in the conference, while Texas Wesleyan stood in second place. Southwestern Christian held third in the league. After Friday's games, Southwestern Christian (35-7, 15-5 SAC) took the lead in the conference after sweeping a doubleheader from Bacone.
Hunter Marcum nailed a run-scoring single into right-center field to slice Texas Wesleyan's lead to 5-2 in the ninth. Alex Lopez struck out Garrett Foster, then gave up Haddox's single. Lopez ended the game and notched the save by retiring Dilon Argo on a groundout.
Joe Lytle brought in the Stars' first run of the game on a grounder in the eighth.
Texas Wesleyan plated four runs in the seventh. Jonathan Bravo's double gave Texas Wesleyan a 2-0 lead. Hayden Muns, Blake Seaton and Alex Gudac each had RBI singles for the Rams.
Haddox, a senior from Moore, Okla., went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Marcum, a senior from Purcell, Okla., was 1-for-3 with a run driven in, and Jared Baker, a junior from Edmond, Okla., pounded a ninth-inning triple and scored on Marcum's base hit.
Mark Simon hurled the first six innings for OCU. Simon, a junior right-hander from Houston, took the loss. Carlos Chavez held Texas Wesleyan scoreless the final two innings with three strikeouts.
Oklahoma City concludes it series with Texas Wesleyan in a noon doubleheader Saturday at the Ballpark at Grand Prairie.