OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Baseball team dropped the final game of the conference opening series to Southwestern Christian as the Eagles put together a late rally to earn a 6-3 victory in Sunday's rubber match. 

Southwestern Christian - 6

Oklahoma City - 3

W: Frangely Morel - 9.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 11 SO

L: Jacob Burkett - 7.1, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Game Summary

In a back-and-forth matchup between Southwestern Christian University (SCU) and Oklahoma City University (OCU), SCU rallied with a late-inning surge to claim a 6-3 victory. Both teams showcased strong pitching early, with the scoreboard remaining blank through four innings.

Pitchers Frangely Morel and Jacob Burkett dominated the early frames, scattering a few hits without allowing a run. OCU's defense turned a key double play in the 3rd to prevent SCU from scoring. 

SCU broke the stalemate with a two-run rally as Jhors Gomez reached on a walk and stole second, setting the stage for Joseph Boone's RBI double. Draike Sparks followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. OCU responded in the bottom half with a solo homer from Jeffery Martz, trimming the deficit to 2-1.

In the eighth, SCU exploded for four runs as Gregory Berroa launched a two-run homer after Braden Browning reached on an error. Later in the inning, Boone added his second RBI with a single, and Joey Thornton contributed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1. OCU scratched a run back with an Aiden Van Rensum's RBI double to cut the deficit down to four. 

In its last chance, Oklahoma City attempted a comeback with a lead off single by Eli Hill and an RBI double from Barret Daniel, making it 6-3. However, Morel settled down, inducing a groundout to secure the complete-game victory. 

Game Notes

• Trent Kiraly tabbed his fourth straight game with multiple hits going 2-for-4 on the day. Kiraly finished his scorching hot week batting 11-for-14 (.786) with two home runs, nine RBI, three doubles and six runs scored. 
• Aiden Van Rensum hit safely for the 12th time in 13 games going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Van Rensum collected multiple hits for the sixth time this season to mark himself as the Stars hit leader with 18 on the year and has put together four straight games with a hit since seeing his eight game hitting streak snapped on Feb. 8. 
• Barrett Daniel went 1-for-4 after hitting his third double of the year. Daniel moved his on-base streak to 13 games on the year while seeing his hit streak stand at five games. 
• Jeffery Martz homered for the second time this season in a 1-for-3 day as he now joins Kiraly, Daniel and Jack Johnson with the team-high of two home runs on the year. With his hit today, Martz sees on-base streak go to eight games as the Stars newcomer has scored in straight. 
• Eli Hill stepped in with a pinch-hit single to solidify his third straight game reaching base while scoring for the second time out. In nine appearances and just two starts Hill is fourth on the team in walks with a .533 on-base percentage. 
• Jacob Burkett made the start for Oklahoma City and despite suffering his first loss on the bump this season, Burkett tacked on four scoreless innings and tossed a season-high 7.1 innings pitched. 

Next Up
Oklahoma City will hit the road for the first time this season ending its 13-game home stand as the Stars take on Oklahoma Wesleyan on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 1:00 PM in Bartlesville, Okla. 

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