The Golden Grizzlies baseball team got back to over .500 in their series win over the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. OU now sits at 18-17 with 20 games remaining in the season. Let’s take a look at how Oakland prevailed in this three-game series.
Game 1: Oakland 6, Purdue Fort Wayne 11
Hunter Pidek took the mound for the first start of the series. In the second inning, he let up a home run to PFW’s Ben Higgins, driving in two runs. In the third inning, the real damage started. Pidek let up seven baserunners in the inning, punctuated by a triple that drove in two runs. At the end of the third inning, Oakland was staring at a 7-0 deficit.
Pidek was able to get past PFW without another scratch in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, third baseman Brandon Nigh came up to bat for Oakland and cranked a solo home run to make it a 7-1 game.
In the top of the fifth, Pidek would allow his last run, giving up a homer to Micheels of the Mastodons. His day was done after five innings with eight runs (five earned), six hits and three walks.
Tanner Ware came in to relieve Pidek and retired the three batters that he faced in the sixth. The Mastodons eventually got to him in the seventh; Ware would walk the first batter he faced and then give up a single and a double that drove in a run. A fielder’s choice play drove in one more run to bring it to 10-1.
Oakland would tack on five more runs late, including back-to-back solo shots from right fielder Ian Cleary and Nigh. It was too little, too late, though; Oakland would lose the game 11-6.
Game 2: Oakland 8, Purdue Fort Wayne 3
It was Shane McAlinden’s turn on the bump to deal with the Mastodons. The freshman let up a double on the first batter he faced, followed by a single that brought in a run. McAlinden was able to escape the inning without any further damage.
Oakland was determined to start off faster this game. Center fielder Reggie Bussey got things going with a leadoff walk before left fielder John Lauinger hit a single. Cleary was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Nigh. Unfortunately, he hit into a fielder’s choice, and Bussey was tagged out at home. With the bases still loaded, second baseman Carter Hain and first baseman Lucas Day hit back-to-back singles to bring in three runs. At the end of the inning, the Grizzlies held a 3-1 lead.
McAlinden dealt with PFW in the top of the second, giving Oakland a chance to extend the lead. Shortstop Sam Griffith led off with a single and took second on a balk. Cleary would hit a clutch double with two outs to score Griffith. 4-1 Grizzlies.
There was little action on the basepaths until the bottom of the fifth when Lauinger doubled to left field and was brought home by an Aidan Orr single. For PFW’s part, they were silent until the top of the seventh, when Higgins hit a two-run home run off McAlinden. The Mastodons cut the lead to only two. McAlinden responded with two straight strikeouts, followed by a single that ended his day. The freshman had a really strong start, going 6.2 innings with six hits, three runs, two walks and six punchouts.
It took the Grizzlies until the bottom of the eighth to get on the board again. Heidal would score on an error by the PFW pitcher, followed by a Nigh single with the bases loaded that brought in two more runs. OU finished the inning with a comfortable 8-3 lead.
Brandon Decker finished the final 2.1 innings for Oakland. He slammed the door on the Mastodons with two strikeouts to end the game. He didn’t allow a single hit or walk in his appearance.
Game 3: Oakland 8, Purdue Fort Wayne 5
Decker was tabbed as the final starter of the series against PFW. The Grizzlies got going early once again, Lauinger walked in the first inning, then Cleary doubled and Nigh walked to load the bases. After an Orr strikeout, Oakland was down to their last out in the inning. Luckily, Hain stepped up to the plate and hit a single to bring Cleary and Lauinger home. Hain was picked off at first but allowed Nigh to get home to make it a 3-0 game after the first frame.
Decker did a great job with the Mastodons through his first four innings. He worked himself out of a few tight spots, such as in the first inning after he surrendered a double and a single to his first two batters. He got his next three batters out on soft contact. The next few innings were all bloop singles, strikeouts or groundouts.
In the fifth, PFW finally got on the board after a single that scored a man from third. The Grizzly bats were right there to pick him up, though. With the bases loaded, Rice hit a flyout to center that scored Griffith. Next, Nigh cranked a single through the left side that brought in Bussey to make it 5-1 Grizzlies. Decker would take care of PFW in the sixth inning, ending his day with six innings, one run, six hits, three walks and five strikeouts.
In the bottom of the sixth, Day and Heidal both singled to drive in a run each. In these last two games, Oakland has done a phenomenal job of getting an early lead with quality starts and good run support.
Freshman Brody Krzysiak took the ball to relieve Decker. He had a rough inning, allowing three hits and a hit-by-pitch that drove in three runs. The seventh inning would be his only frame. The score stood at 7-4 Grizzlies.
In the top of the eighth, PFW scored one more run-off reliever Aaron Evers, but Oakland responded with one of their own from a Sam Griffith single. Evers would earn the save, and Oakland ended the series with an 8-5 win.