OKLAHOMA CITY – The top-ranked Oklahoma City University baseball team fell 2-1 at the hands of conference foe St. Gregory's Thursday night at Jim Wade Stadium.
Oklahoma City lost back-to-back games for the first time since Feb. 18-19 when they lost two straight to Bellevue (Neb.). The Stars fell to 40-7, 17-2 in the Sooner Athletic Conference this season.
Matt Young (7-2) was marvelous on the mound for the Stars, pitching nine innings while allowing just five hits, two runs, walking just one and striking out a career-high 14 hitters. Young, a junior from Glendora, Calif., threw his fourth complete game this season and allowed both runs on an infield single in the eighth inning.
The game was a pitcher's duel throughout as neither starter yielded a run in the first seven innings.
The Cavaliers broke the scoreless drought in the eighth with a two-RBI infield single from Ryan Lujan-Leonard.
OCU fought back in the bottom of the ninth and loaded the bases for an RBI single from Joe Lytle, but were unable to complete the comeback as Matt Oxner (6-2) induced a flyout to left to end it.
Oxner, a junior from San Jose, Calif., picked up the win as he went the distance for St. Gregory's, allowing one run on eight hits and striking out eight. He threw 165 pitches in the win.
The win for St. Gregory's was the snapped a 34 game losing streak against OCU.
Branden Grieger was the only player on either team to record multiple hits in the game as he went 2-for-4.
OCU looks to bounce back Saturday in a doubleheader against St. Gregory's in Shawnee, Okla., beginning at 1:00 p.m.