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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Tanner Sparks
Sparks tossed five innings and allowed only one run in the Stars' 9-4 win over Sterling (Kan.)
4
Sterling (Kan.) STERLING 11-11
9
Winner Oklahoma City OCU 15-8
Sterling (Kan.) STERLING
11-11
4
Final
9
Oklahoma City OCU
15-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Sterling (Kan.) STERLING 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 4 7 2
Oklahoma City OCU 0 0 4 0 1 0 3 1 X 9 10 1

W: Sparks, Tanner (1-2) L: Andrew Mason (2-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

No. 10 Baseball Wins Third Straight, Beats Sterling 9-4

Factor, Williams, Crispin Homer in Stars Victory

OKLAHOMA CITY - Tuesday afternoon was a perfect day for baseball at Jim Wade Stadium. With temperatures in the upper 60s and a light breeze blowing at the ballpark, Oklahoma City University welcomed Sterling College (Kan.) in for a mid-week single game, and thanks to a solid effort from OCU starting pitcher Tanner Sparks and timely hitting, OCU won their third straight game, and their eighth in their last nine contests.

OCU (15-8) scored four times in the third inning, and the Stars plated another three in the seventh as they beat Sterling (11-11) 9-4.

Sterling actually jumped out to the early lead, when they scored on a single to right-center just three batters into the game. The Warriors threatened for more in the inning as well, as they loaded the bases with only one away, but Sparks buckled down and notched back-to-back swinging strikeouts to end the threat and minimized the damage.

The Warriors continued to lead into the third inning, but after a quiet start to the OCU half of the inning, the Stars roared to life. The Warriors retired the first two batters of the inning, but on the first pitch of his at bat, Cross Factor lined a two-run home run down the right field line that gave OCU the 2-1 lead. Just four pitches later, Tyler Williams hit his 12th home run of the season to extend the Stars' advantage to 3-1, and Peyton Crispin added an RBI on a sacrifice fly to cap the four-run outburst, and with three innings complete, OCU led 4-1.

Bryson Lierle singled home Jared Hazeldine in the bottom of the fifth frame to extend the OCU lead to 5-1, but Sterling began to chip away. Single runs for the Warriors in the sixth and seventh innings cut the margin to 5-3, but in the bottom of the seventh frame, Crispin delivered the knockout blow. After Dalton Reed tripled and Noah Barks was hit by a pitch, Crispin crushed the first pitch he saw for a 3-run home run to center field that put OCU up 8-3. Each team added a run in the eighth to cap the scoring, and OCU took the win, 9-4.

Sparks (1-2) was masterful on the mound for OCU after a rocky first inning. He gave up one earned run on four hits in the game, but three of those hits and the only run he allowed came in the first. In his final four innings, he faced only four over the minimum, and he allowed multiple runners in the same inning only once. He finished the day with two walks and five strikeouts in the win. The loss went to Sterling Starting pitcher Andrew Mason (2-2) who was tagged for four earned runs on five hits in three innings of work. Mason walked one and fanned three.

Gunner Halter had the only multi-hit game for OCU, as he was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Factor was 1-for-4 with the homer and two RBIs; Williams was 1-for-3 with the homer, two walks, and two runs scored; and Crispin was 1-for-3 with the long ball and four batted in. Reed also tripled and scored twice.

OCU will be back in SAC play over the weekend, heading south to Waxahachie, Texas to take on the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lions (18-8, 3-3 SAC), but the schedule for the weekend has changed. Originally, the teams were slated for a night game on Friday and a double-header on Saturday, but weather concerns have forced the series to be moved up. The double-header is now slated for 1 p.m. on Thursday, and the single game has been moved up to a Noon first pitch on Friday.
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