Baseball Sweeps Brescia, Breaks Win Record - Oakland City University Athletics (2024)

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 The Oakland City University baseball team played a three-game series at Brescia University this weekend, this series wrapped up the regular season of River States Conference play. The Mighty Oaks swept the Bearcats and set a new single season win record.

Game 1
The Mighty Oaks offense got off to a good start on Saturday. Leyton Ivers led off the first by getting on due to a fielding error. After stealing second base, he scored on a single from Fred Fernandez. An inning later, Xander Willis started with a double. Kendric Sorgius got on thanks to another fielding error, this put runners on first and third. Marcos Arocho hit an infield single which allowed Willis to score, putting Oakland City up 2-0.

In the third inning, Oliver Hamilton doubled down the left field line and Xander Willis got on thanks to an error. This allowed Kendric Sorgius to drive in two runs with a single to left field. Brescia came back in the game in the bottom of the sixth, as they scored two runs. Oakland City answered in the top of the seventh with singled from Xander Willis and Marcos Arocho (RBI), putting the Oaks up 5-2. The Bearcats would score one more run in the bottom of the seventh, making the final score 5-3.

Benjamen Simmons started the game for the Mighty Oaks, in six innings he allowed three hits, two runs (both earned), while walking two and striking out seven. Owen Spears pitched two innings in relief, he gave up three hits and a run (earned), as he walked none and struck out one. The save went to Evan Price, who threw a scoreless ninth inning.

Game 2
Thomas King started game two of the series and did so in scoreless fashion. In five innings he allowed just two hits and one walk as he struck out nine. Kiefer Parsons completed the shutout with two innings of relief in which he allowed a hit and a walk, while fanning four.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Mighty Oaks produced some quality team offense throughout the game. Mason Simon led-off the third inning with a double down the left field line. He got moved to third by a sacrifice bunt from Marcos Arocho. Leyton Ivers brought Simon home with a sacrifice fly.

A triple from Xander Willis started off the top of the fifth. Mason Simon drove him in with a productive groundout, putting Oakland City up 2-0. An inning later, Leyton Ivers got on base thanks to a fielding error. He got moved to second base by a sacrifice bunt from Aron Busick and later stole third base. Fred Fernandez singled him home, to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

With the bases loaded in the seventh, a single from Leyton Ivers brought home two more runs, securing a 5-0 lead, which ended up being the final score. This was the 35^th win of the season for Oakland City, breaking the single season win record for the baseball program. Last year this record was set at 34.

Game 3
After a good day on Saturday, the Mighty Oaks traveled to Owensboro trying to complete the sweep. In the second inning, Oakland City got an early 1-0 lead. After Kendric Sorgius walked to lead-off the inning, he stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. JT Smallwood drove him in with a groundout to second base.

Brescia tied the game at one in the third inning and would take the lead in the fifth. After five innings, the Bearcats were up 1-5.

In a productive seventh inning, Oakland City was able to tie the game back up. Leyton Ivers started with a single, Aron Busick also singled. The bases loaded up when Noah Baugher got hit by a pitch. On a passed ball, the first run of the inning would score. A walk for Fred Fernandez loaded the bases back up. Kendric Sorgius also drew a walk, bringing in another run. A sacrifice fly from Alec Pruitt followed and brought the Oaks within a run. The tying run came from the bat of JT Smallwood, who singled into right field, allowing Fernandez to score the 5-5.

The score remained tied until the top of the tenth inning, in which Oakland City was able to plate two runs. A double from Marcos Arocho started the rally, as a single from Leyton Ivers and an intentional walk for Aron Busick followed. With the bases loaded, Noah Baugher was able to bring in the go-ahead run with a fielder's choice. With runners on first and third, a steal from Baugher resulted in Ivers being able to score the seventh Oakland City run of the afternoon.

Evan Price shut the door in the bottom of the tenth with a clean inning and two strikeouts, as he earned the save. Gehrig Tenhumberg (4 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO) started the game for Oakland City. Cole Lambird (1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO), Weston Allen (W, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) and Kendric Sorgius (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO) all pitched before Price came in.

Next up
The Mighty Oaks, whose record stands at 36-13 overall and 16-7 in River States Conference play, will travel to McKenzie, Tennessee to play at Bethel University on Tuesday. Following that, on Friday the Oaks will host the Opening Round of the RSC Tournament as they play a best-of-three series versus Alice Lloyd College to decide who moves on to the tournament in Chillicothe, Ohio.