FROM PRESS RELEASE
JoeDan Poulter belted a pair of home runs and Rudy Jovanovski drove in four as the third-ranked Ouachita Baptist baseball team set a school record for runs scored as the Tigers pounded Upper Iowa , 28-7, Saturday afternoon at Rab Rodgers Field.
Ouachita Baptist (5-0) raced out to a 6-0 lead after one inning and added eight in the second to take a 14-0 margin into the top of the third. Upper Iowa added a pair on the third, but the Tigers countered with a run in the bottom of the third and four in the fourth to put the game away.
Poulter, who went 3-for-3 at the plate, scored three times and drove in four. Jovanovski was 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and four RBIs. Also getting four RBIs was Drew Maus, who hit a grand slam in the fourth inning.
Tigers head coach Scott Norwood went to his bench as 25 players saw action.
Jim Streicher, who returned to the lineup after suffering an injury, had his first hit of the season and was 1-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a pair of hit by pitches.
Several Ouachita Baptist freshmen also had their first college hit, including Mark Cain (1-for-2), Tyler Vaughn (1-for-1), Payne Spence (2-for-2, two runs scored and three RBIs), Matt Stripling (0-for-0), Dustin O’Brien (0-for-0), Michael Haydon (1-for-1 with a run scored and an RBI), Brandon Moyer (0-for-1), Dustin Howard (0-for-0), Drew Baker (1-for-3) and Nathan Saltzgaber (0-for-2).
Chase Baran picked up the victory on the mound and improved to 1-0 after pitching five innings, giving up three runs on five hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Alex Smith, Josh Turner and Tyler Bell also saw action on the mound in relief.
Brad Mey was tagged with the loss after working just 2/3 of an inning. He surrendered six runs on eight hits with a walk and faced just 10 batters. Greg Seick, Greg Polt, Chris Wlezien, Joe Dieterle and Mitch McClay all worked in relief.
The Tigers play host 2:00 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 10 against Drury at Rab Rogers Field. The game can be heard on the internet at: www.obutigers.com.
