FROM PRESS RELEASE
ARKADELPHIA – JoeDan Poulter and Justin Pennell belted home runs as the second-ranked Ouachita Baptist baseball team held off Missouri Southern State, 5-4, Saturday afternoon at Rab Rodgers Field.
Chase Baran (4-0) got the win, pitching six innings. He surrendered three runs (one earned) on five hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Jerry Helferich worked 2 1/3 innings of relief by giving up a run on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Patrick Lemmond earned his eighth save by pitching 2/3 of an inning.
The Lions (1-10) got a run in the top of the first, but the Tigers (19-2) stormed back with single runs in the second and third innings to grab a 2-1 lead. However, Missouri Southern scored a pair in the fourth and led 3-2 heading into the fifth.
Ouachita Baptist tied the contest at 3 in the bottom of the fifth and grabbed a 5-3 advantage, in which it never relinquished in the sixth.
With one out, Drew Maus singled to center. After a strikeout by Ryan Wade, Poutler belted a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall, giving the Tigers a 5-3 lead.
Poulter paced the Ouachita Baptist offense by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Pennell went 2-for-4 with a pair driven in.
The Lions didn’t go away quietly, scoring a run in the ninth as Alec French drew a one-out walk. With two outs, Cliff Wheeler smacked a double to left-center, scoring French from first. However, Wheeler got a bit greedy and was thrown out trying to extend a double to a triple as the relay throw from Chad Taylor to Maus and to Jovanovski was in time for the final out.
Tyler Lipscomb (0-2) started on the mound for Missouri Southern as he gave up five runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Jeremy Bland pitched two innings of relief.
The Tigers conclude the three-game series 12:30 p.m., Sunday, March 9 at Rab Rodgers Field against Missouri Southern State. The game can be heard on the internet on the Ouachita Baptist athletic Web site at: www.obutigers.com.
