Between the series with McNeese State University and New Mexico State University, the Oakland men’s baseball team had two one-game stands against Lamar University and the University of Texas San Antonio.
Unfortunately for the Golden Grizzlies, both games ended up in blowouts; OU lost to Lamar 15-2 on Feb. 24 and fell to UTSA 13-3 on Feb. 26.
Oakland’s Cecil Barone got his second start of the season against Lamar. Just like his first start against Jacksonville State, it was a very short appearance. Barone did not record a single out before being pulled from the game. The junior allowed four hits and five runs with a walk against his first five batters faced. Two doubles for Lamar spelled the end of Barone’s start. In the blink of an eye, the Golden Grizzlies were down 0-6 after one inning.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that Oakland could get anything going on the basepaths. The fourth started promising with back-to-back singles from shortstop Brandon Nigh and catcher Ben Clark. Both runners advanced with a fielding error, setting up the Golden Grizzlies with a golden opportunity to score.
After a first-baseman Lucas Day strikeout, third-baseman Carter Hain hit a ground out that drove home Nigh at third, giving Oakland its first run of the game. Jack Lux would strike out to end the inning.
It appeared for a while that the Golden Grizzlies might be able to make a game out of this one. OU managed to load the bases in the fifth inning after two hits-by-pitches and a single from left fielder John Lauinger. Nigh brought Trent Rice home from third with a fielder’s choice to second base, bringing the game to 6-2. However, luck was not on Oakland’s side as Clark hit a fly ball to end the inning with two men on.
Meanwhile, Golden Grizzlies pitcher Daniel Duley did a solid job in relief for Barone. Duley went 4.1 innings with three hits, one walk and a run with six strikeouts. Helping him out was Ryan Donley, who came in for an inning and two outs to bring Oakland to the sixth with little damage after Barone’s first inning. Donley would allow a run in the sixth off a triple to Lamar’s Brayden Evans, making it a 7-2 ball game.
Lamar’s bats finally came alive again in the seventh inning after their explosive start. Senior Stephen Ruhle came in to pitch for the Golden Grizzlies and immediately surrendered a homerun to his first batter. From there, the floodgates opened. Ruhle would let up three more runs in the seventh before being pulled for Drew Delcollo with two outs.
Delcollo didn’t fare much better, either. Lamar loaded the bases with one out in the eighth inning before Trent Baker of the Cardinals hit a pinch-hit grand slam. With a score of 15-2, the game was called early.
Oakland faced similar offensive difficulties against UTSA.
The Roadrunners jumped on the Golden Grizzlies early again, scoring two runs in the first to take an early advantage. Starting pitcher Tanner Ware allowed back-to-back doubles before retiring three straight batters. Just an inning later, Ware would put two men on with a walk and hit-by-pitch, culminating in another double that drove both runners home. An early 4-0 deficit was not what Oakland hoped to see after their opening against Lamar.
In the top of the third inning, the Golden Grizzlies finally got something going, as second-baseman Sam Griffith singled before Lauinger walked. The inning ended with consecutive strikeouts by Aidan Orr and Nigh, keeping OU off the board.
The Roadrunners kept piling it on in the fourth inning, getting six hits and driving home three more runs. They forced Ware out of the game after only three innings, bringing in reliever Blake Sehlke. After UTSA tacked on two more runs in the fifth, Oakland finally got in the scoring column in the sixth inning with a home run from Nigh, putting OU down 9-1.
Nigh’s teammate Rice would join in on the long-ball fun with his own homer in the seventh, scoring two more runs for the Golden Grizzlies. UTSA responded with their own offense, driving in three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to put Oakland down 13-3.
The game ended in the seventh, and the Golden Grizzlies now sit at 1-8 with a series against New Mexico State looming later in the week.
