OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City baseball team enters its final non-conference series this weekend with three big games against #25 Freed-Hardeman out of Tennessee and the Mid-South Conference. 

Game Information    

• Oklahoma City Stars (12-7)    
• Previous Game: vs Oklahoma Wesleyan (W, 13-7)    
• Freed-Hardeman Lions (15-1) 
• Previous Game: vs UT Southern (W, 3-0) 
• Date and Time: Friday, Mar. 1, 12 & 2:30 PM | Saturday, Mar. 2, 12:05 PM 
• Location: Denney Crabaugh Field at Jim Wade Stadium   
• Live Coverage: TV | Radio | Live Stats   

Oklahoma City   

• Key Hitters    
  • Jr | #18 - Darian Duhon- .415 AVG, 1.091 OPS, 19 R, 27 H, 2 HR, 13 RBIs    
  • Sr | #9 - Trent Kiraly - .409 AVG, 1.383 OPS, 27 H, 6 2B, 9 HR, 25 RBIs   
  • Jr | #12 – Hunter Lenochan - .333 AVG, .868 OPS, 3 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBIs 
• Key Pitchers     
  • Jr | #26 - Andrew Limbaugh– 1-1, 19.2 IP, 4.58 ERA, 10 BB, 19 SO   
  • Jr | #20 – Jacob Burkett – 1-1, 24.2 IP, 5.84 ERA, 4 BB, 17 SO   
  • Sr | #30 – Connor Ferguson – 0-1, 21.0 IP, 5.57 ERA, 15 BB, 15 SO  
  • Gr | #8 – Chad Pike – 2-1, 11.0 IP, 5 SV, 2.45 ERA, 2 BB, 12 SO   

About the Stars   

• Oklahoma City enters this weekend's series coming off a strong offense game on Tuesday where the Stars jacked four home runs and scored a run in the first six innings to score their second-highest total of the year with 13 runs. 
• Darian Duhon comes in as the Stars leader in batting average at .415, while tying for the team lead in hits and leads the squad in runs scored with 19. Duhon put together a 2-for-5 day at the plate on Tuesday which makes it five out of the last six games in that he has totaled multiple hits.  
• Trent Kiraly continues to tear the opposing pitching apart by tying for the third-most home runs in all of the NAIA with nine bombs on the year. Kiraly added two long balls to his total on Tuesday while lifting his average to above .400 extended his RBI total to 25 and tied Darian Duhon for the lead in hits.   
• Third basemen Tristan Williams saw a 1-for-5 day against OKWU which extended his hitting streak to seven games. 
• Hunter Lenochan has also posted a hit in seven straight games after going 3-for-4 on Tuesday with three runs scored making it six consecutive games the Stars second basemen have crossed the plate in. 
• After opening the season with a 12-game on-base streak, Aiden Alexander has notched a base hit in three straight games and extended his stolen base total to five, which leads the team. 
• Aiden Van Rensum is currently on a five-game hitting streak after seeing a 2-for-5 day against the Eagles on Tuesday. Van Rensum used a three-run homer to put the game away giving him six straight games with at least one RBI and currently sits second on the team behind Kiraly with 18 runs batted in. 
• Reese Ratchford made his second start of the season on the mound for OCU and after allowing five runs in the second inning, Ratchford settled in and finished the day throwing five innings while giving up six runs on eight hits while striking out four and earning his third win of the season. 
• For the pitching, the Stars have stuck with a rotation of Andrew Limbaugh, Jacob Burkett, and Connor Ferguson. The three guys have combined for a 5.33 ERA as Burkett leads in innings pitched with 24.2 with one complete game and 17 strikeouts.   
• Limbaugh leads the squad in strikeouts with 19 while coming off a season-high seven Ks against MidAmerica Nazarene on Feb. 16.  
• In the bullpen, Cade Kelsey has started to shine earning two wins in four appearances with a 1.29 ERA.  
• Austin Worley came up with his best relief appearance this year as he entered the game with the bases loaded in the sixth and got out of the jam, then proceeded to sit down Eagle hitters in order during the seventh, before allowing just one base runner on a hit by pitch in the eighth while striking out two. Worley finished his day throwing 2.1, with three strikeouts without allowing a hit. 
• Chad Pike has taken control of the closer role early in the season coming up with five saves while having a 2-1 record with a 2.45 ERA.   

Freed-Hardeman 

• Key Hitters    
  • Jr | #33 - Brady Spring - .405 AVG, .1.176 OPS, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBIs   
  • Fr | #10 – Jordan Carter - .383 AVG, 1.265 OPS, 18 R, 6 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBIs 
  • Fr | #4 – Cade Fuller - .353 AVG, 1.404 OPS, 6 HR, 17 RBIs, .941 SLG%,  
• Key Pitchers     
  • Jr | #29 – Houston High – 4-0, 21.0 IP, CG, 1.29 ERA, 12 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 8 BB, 22 SO 
  • Jr | #40 – Matthew Riley – 3-0, 19.2 IP, 1.83 ERA, 17 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 13 SO 
  • Sr | #16 – Colton Huntt – 4-0, 22.0 IP, CG, 3.68 ERA, 15 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 28 SO 

About the Lions 

• Freed-Hardeman comes to Oklahoma City for the first time since 2022 and holds a 15-1 overall record so far this season as the #25 ranked team in the country.  
• The Lions come off a 40-21 season in 2023 where they took a runner-up finish in the Mid-South Conference tournament before seeing its season come to an end in the NAIA Opening Round final against Georgia Gwinnett. 
• The Lions are led offensively by Brady Spring who has the team's only average above the .400 mark. Spring comes in on a five-game hitting streak while scoring a run in his last four games.  
• Freshman Jordan Carter enters with a .383 average while leading the team in doubles (6) and ties for the team lead in hits with 18. Carter has reached home plate in seven consecutive games while driving in a team-high 21 RBIs. 
• Cade Fuller has been a standout freshman for Freed-Hardeman by launching a team-best six home runs out of the park while seeing his best game came on Feb. 24 against St. Francis (IL) by going 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs. 
• In total, the Lions have six batters in their lineup hitting .340 or above while hitting a total of 29 home runs which matches the exact total of OCU. 
• Freed-Hardeman carries a nine-game winning streak into this weekend's series while coming off a win against UT Southern, 3-0. 
• The stellar pitching of the Lions has been showcased by its top two arms in Houston High and Matthew Riley. Both arms hold an ERA under 2.00 while both pitchers come in with undefeated records on the mound.  
• High comes off a dominating performance in his most recent outing back on Feb. 24 with a complete game one-hitter.  
• Riley earned the win in the previous game for the Lions against UT Southern by putting in six innings of shutout ball.  
• Colton Huntt has thrown the second-most number of innings for Freed-Hardeman but has allowed at least two runs in all four outings. Despite that, Huntt is still in control of the team lead in strikeouts with 28 seeing a nine strikeouts game in his first start while coming off an eight-strikeout game back on Feb. 23. 

Series History    

• The teams have only met on three occasions with OCU taking all three games. The two schools last met in 2022 in the NAIA Opening Round at Jim Wade Stadium earning a 9-5 win over the Lions. 

What's Next   

• The Stars will begin Sooner Athletic Conference play next weekend by hosting Mid-America Christian in a three-game set beginning Friday at 2 PM with a doubleheader on Saturday at 12 & 2:30 PM.