OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma City Baseball team dropped the series opener on Friday night against Sooner Athletic Conference foe Central Christian College. Ultimately, the Stars fell 5-4, and the Tigers utilized the long ball to propel their offense at Denney Crabaugh Field. OCU had multiple chances to tie or take the lead late in the game but were unable to plate the go-ahead runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Tigers starting pitcher, Robert White, gave up four earned runs to the Stars' offense, but CCC leaned on relief pitcher Braden Young to seal their victory against OCU. With a win Friday night, the Stars would have moved to .500 in SAC play—instead, they fall to 7-9 inside conference play in the 2025 season.

CCC 5, OCU 4

Top Performers
Nic Bennett: 2-5, 2B, RBI
Hunter Brown: 1-3, 2 RBI, R, HR, BB
 
Striking first were the Stars. In the bottom of the first inning, Nic Bennett stung a ball down the right field line, which resulted in a double that scored Aiden Alexander. Impressively, Alexander reached base on a bunt single from the lead-off spot, and he proceeded to position himself to score by stealing second base.

A two-run home run hit by Tigers' center fielder Kurt Ippolito put CCC up 2-1 in the top of the third inning. Four of the five runs scored by Central Christian came from home runs.

The fourth inning included an explosion of offense by both squads, seeing as four of the nine total runs scored in the ballgame came in the inning mentioned above. CCC left-fielder Bo Daniel hit his first solo shot of the game, while the Stars scored on a Jack Johnson double down the left field line that drove in Barrett Daniel.

Two batters later, Stars' catcher, Hunter Brown, homered over the scoreboard in left field to bring himself and Johnson in to score. Brown, Daniel, and Johnson accounted for three of the four runs scored by OCU Friday night.

However, in the sixth and seventh innings, the Stars gave up their 4-3 lead to the Tigers. In the top of the sixth, Daniel smashed his second solo home run of the game off the scoreboard in left field.

Then, in the seventh inning, a most peculiar and untimely bounce of the ball helped CCC score on a routine flyout. Cooper Sanders, who found himself on second base after drawing a walk and advancing on a wild pitch, tagged and advanced to third on a flyout by Ippolito, was struck on the arm by the throw while sliding into third. The ball proceeded to trickle well into foul territory, allowing Sanders to score.

Between the seventh and eighth innings, OCU stranded four baserunners, with three of them in scoring position. The Stars saw their one, two, and three hole hitters come to the plate for a potential walk-off in the ninth, but ultimately were sat down in order to end the game.


Next Up
Oklahoma City will get right back at it tomorrow afternoon with a doubleheader against Central Christian. Game one will start at noon, with game two scheduled to begin at 3:00. Both games will be played at Jim Wade Stadium.


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