Pride cap weekend with run rule victory over Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Following a dream offensive opening day doubleheader on Saturday, the Clarke University baseball team followed up a pair of wins the day before with a run rule 17-5 victory over Oklahoma City University on Sunday afternoon in seven innings.

The Pride scored 17 runs for the second time in three games as they bashed out 13 hits and showed great plate discipline at the plate, walking 12 times, compared to their 13 walks over the two games on Saturday, while only striking out three times as a team over the entirety of the game.

Clarke would get out to a lead in the top of the first on an Alden Brown RBI double but the Stars would answer with three of their own in the bottom of the inning before they put up their fourth inning of five or more runs over the three games with a give-run second that saw Cole Swartz draw a bases loaded walk, DJ Graham drive in a pair with a single, and Alex Reynozo and Brown also drive in runs on ground outs.

Graham was a catalyst batting in the second spot in the order for the Pride on Sunday as he finished the day 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored with his other two RBIs coming in the form of another two-RBI single that would add to the CU lead in the third inning when he made it 8-3.

Jaxon Brooks and Darin Eales both had multi-hit games in the middle of the Clarke order as Brooks continued to slug after his two-homer game in the season opener as he produced a pair of two-RBI doubles in the sixth and seventh innings to match Graham's team-high four RBIs in the game while Eales went 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored.

Randy Lopez Acosta didn't make an out any time he came to bat as he went 1-for-1 with three walks and was hit by a pitch to score three runs and steal a base while Eric Hebert drove in three runs in a 3-for-4 day, getting his first start of the year at second base.

The Pride used two pitchers for the 21 outs they needed to get in the run rule win with Carson Possehl getting the ball to start game three of the weekend as he would go 3.2 innings allowing four earned runs on five hits while striking out five but his pitch count climbed as he also walked eight. 

Christian Prull would get the final 10 outs of the game, throwing 3.1 innings of two-hit ball while striking out four and only allowing an earned run in relief of Possehl to pick up his first win on the mound of the season.

Clarke baseball will continue to head southwest during their early portions of the season as their next road trip will take them to Salina, Kan. for a four-game weekend where they will play Hastings and St. Ambrose on Friday, Feb. 7 and Kansas Wesleyan and Hastings again on Saturday, Feb. 8.