SE Takes Rubber Match over Bulldogs, 8-6

DURANT, Okla. – Jake Miller and Joseph Ramirez each homered, while Michael Barta tossed four shutout innings in relief as Southeastern rallied for an 8-6 win in the rubber match of its series against Southwestern Oklahoma State on Sunday afternoon at Mike Metheny Field.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 10-9 overall on the season and 4-5 in Great American Conference play heading into a non-conference midweek matchup with Washburn played at a neutral site in Arkansas City, Ark.
 
Sam Creed, Damon Burroughs, Cameron French, Ramirez, and Dylan Herd each picked up two hits, while Reid Rice, Seth Morrow, and Miller added one apiece.
 
Ramirez and Miller each homered, while Rice, Burroughs, Morrow, and Herd each doubled.
 
Creed, Miller, and Ramirez each had a pair of RBI, while Burroughs and Herd drove in one apiece.
 
Connor Priest got the start and took a no decision after allowing six runs, four earned, on six hits with five strikeouts in three innings pitched.
 
Barta stepped in and would scatter two hits and strikeout two over the next four innings to pick up the victory and move his record to 2-0.
 
Coby Langford allowed a hit in an inning of relief before Jordan Compton came in to close out the contest, tossing the final inning and allowing one hit while picking up his first save of the season.
 
SWOSU would take advantage of two Storm errors in the top of the second inning as the nine-hole hitter would connect on a grand slam to take a 4-0 lead.
 
SE did not wait long to respond as French would connect on a two-out single and a batter later Miller would homer over the right field wall to close the gap to 4-2.
 
However, the Storm was not yet finished in the inning as Ramirez and Herd followed with back-to-back singles before Creed would drive them both in on an RBI single but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, but not before knotting the game at 4-4.
 
The Bulldogs would connect on a two-run homer in the top of the third to retake the lead at 6-4.
 
Southeastern answered on a Burroughs RBI double to score Rice and cut the lead in half to 6-5.
 
A Herd RBI double in the fourth would tie the game back up at 6-6.
 
The Storm would load the bases with two outs in the fifth and Ramirez would draw a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run and regain the lead at 7-6.
 
Both teams were held off the board in the sixth and seventh innings, but in the bottom of the eighth it was Ramirez again, this time connecting on a solo homer to lead off the inning and tack on an insurance run at 8-6.
 
Compton would allow a single to lead off the inning, and the Storm would get the lead runner a batter later trying to turn two.
 
They would successfully turn two one batter after that to end the game and preserve the 8-6 victory.