Oklahoma Baptist reduced its magic number for reaching the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament to one game Thursday with a 13-3 mercy-rule win over St. Gregory’s at Bison Field at Ford Park.
OBU’s win gives them a 15-14 SAC record and two-game lead on Rogers State for the final playoff spot. Rogers State and Oklahoma Christian were rained out on Thursday.
The Cavaliers, for the second game in a row, drew first blood, scoring on a fielder’s choice by Kenny Gooch.
The Bison erupted for six runs in the bottom of the first as Billy Thomas sent Jacob Douglas’ first pitch over the left field wall to get things started. OBU added a run on a passed ball, a two-run double by Victor Manzano and an RBI grounder by Justin Trejo. The final run camein on an error.
Douglas settled down after that and held OBU to one run over the next five innings. Arin Fowble doubled and scored on a single by Josh Kirkpatrick in the fifth.
Gooch, a Stroud product, doubled in a run in the sixth for the Cavaliers to cut the lead to 7-2, but the Bison answered with four in the seventh on a two-run single by Manzano and a two-run home run by Trejo.
SGU got one back in the top of the eighth on an RBI ground out by Jake Merritt.
The Bison ended the game in the eighth with an RBI single by Fowble and a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Carnes for the 13-3 win.
Brent Robison (9-2) got the win, pitching 7 2/3 innings and allowing three runs, one unearned.
OBU banged out 12 hits, including three by Fowble and two each by Chad Dawkins, Manzano and Trejo.
Now 36-17 overall, OBU and the Cavaliers round out the regular season Friday at Bison Field with a 6 p.m. game. The contest was originally set for Saturday but was moved up because of the threat of rain.
St. Gregory’s fell to 8-45 overall and 0-29 in the SAC.
For a look at the linescore, see the Scoreboard.
SHAWNEE, Okla. —
