Top-ranked Oklahoma City (24-1, 8-0) remained undefeated in Sooner Athletic Conference play with a doubleheader sweep over #17 Wayland Baptist, 11-3 and 19-3, Sunday afternoon at Wilder Field.
The opener started out as the pitcher's duel most fans and players were expecting. The Pioneers got on the board first when Pedro Gomez led off the bottom of the third with a triple to the wall in right centerfield and scored on Michael Prell's ground out. WBU's Marcus Limon, the NAIA's leader in strikeouts, had held the Stars hitless through the first three innings, but a mistake in the top of the fourth to clean-up hitter B.J. Wheeler tied the score at 1.
OCU regained the lead in the fifth with another solo shot, this one off the bat of left fielder David Mann, but Wayland's Brett Cook knotted it back up in the bottom half with a lead-off homer of his own.
The Stars broke the game open in the top of the sixth when Limon began having control problems. Three Pioneer relievers didn't fare much better, as OCU scored eight runs on two hits, five walks and three hit batters in the inning.
Both teams scored a run in the seventh. The visitors got a lead-off homer from Kirk Walker, while WBU scored an unearned run on Eddie Allen's RBI single to center.
The Pioneers outhit OCU 8-6 in the first game, with Prell and Allen getting two hits each, but OCU starting pitcher Ashur Tolliver, a southpaw, struck out 12 Wayland batters and did not surrender a walk. Tolliver improved his record to 6-0 on the season. Limon, who struck out six, was the loser of the contest, falling to 4-2.
The Stars came into the series with WBU leading the nation in hits per game and in slugging percentage, and among the top in three in several other hitting categories. In the nightcap, they showed why. OCU got 19 runs on 15 hits in the game, including three doubles, a triple and three home runs.
The WBU pitching staff again had control problems, issuing a total of 12 walks in the contest. Four of those walks were to Star first baseman Brent Weaver, the NAIA leader in home runs with 16.
The Pioneers (22-6, 7-4) managed just five hits in the game, three off the bat of centerfielder Todd Jeffress, who had a double and a two-run homer. Keith Martin and Gomez got the other two hits, and Prell picked up his second RBI of the series.
Todd Weldon (7-1) suffered his first loss of the season in the nightcap. OCU's Justin Harper got the win, his sixth of the year.
The two teams finish off the series with a single game at 1 p.m. on Monday.
