FORT WORTH, Texas – Oklahoma City University shut down Texas Wesleyan 14-2 on Thursday at Sycamore Park as top 20-ranked teams in NAIA baseball squared off.
Lane Milligan, a senior from Binger, Okla., nailed two home runs and drove in five runs for the Stars. Fifth-ranked OCU improved to 36-5, 19-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference, while 20th-ranked Texas Wesleyan fell to 31-11, 17-5 in the SAC.
Shaun Corso and Daniel Costello also hit homers for Oklahoma City. Matt Young held Texas Wesleyan scoreless through seven innings.
The Stars plated four runs to build a 6-0 fourth-inning advantage. Joe Lytle had a sacrifice fly to left field, and Milligan followed by hammering a three-run shot past the right center-field fence.
Milligan led off the eighth by smashing a solo homer to center. Costello belted a two-run blast over the right-field fence, putting OCU ahead 11-0. Lytle and Milligan swatted RBI singles for a 14-0 Stars advantage.
Corso nailed a two-run homer to left-center in the sixth. The Stars went up 8-0.
Milligan went 4-for-5 and scored three times, and Costello, a senior from Edmond, Okla., turned in a 3-for-4 day with a run scored. Lytle, a senior from Yukon, Okla., contributed a 2-for-5 showing with two runs scored and two runs driven in, while Jacob Chappell, a senior from Guthrie, Okla., was 2-for-5 with two runs scored for OCU.
Young, a senior right-hander from Glendora, Calif., moved to 3-0 on the year. Young held Texas Wesleyan to four hits while striking out nine in seven innings. Young retired the last nine batters he faced in a row. Miguel Figueroa finished on the mound for Oklahoma City. The Stars dealt Texas Wesleyan starter Brad Sugg his first loss of the season, dropping him to 9-1.
OCU takes on Texas Wesleyan in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Friday in Fort Worth, Texas.