Bush Drives in Seven in 21-6 Series Opening Win

BETHANY, Okla. – JJ Bush homered twice and drove in seven runs while Southeastern put up 12 runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull away with a 21-6 win in the series opener at Southern Nazarene on Friday afternoon in Bethany, Okla.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 9-5 overall on the season and 5-2 in Great American Conference play with the final two games of the series at SNU set for a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
 
Bush finished the contest with three hits, two of them home runs, while driving in seven runs.
 
Alex Showalter also added three hits, finishing with four RBI.
 
Ryan Kirk, Carter Olson, and Jacob Ambriz each logged two hits, while Isaac Villa, Tyler Payton, Hayden Carpenter, and Jax Heid had one each.
 
Kirk added a homer to Bush's two, while Payton tripled, with Olson, Carpenter, and Ambriz each doubling.
 
Kirk finished with four RBI as well, while Olson, Carpenter, and Heid each drove in two.
 
Daniel Collins got the start on the hill but ended with a no decision after tossing 6.0 innings and allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts.
 
Ryan Rauss followed and was tagged for three runs on three walks in one-third of an inning.
 
Cody Pfeffer came on in relief and earned his second win of the season, allowing a run on two hits in 1.2 innings of work.
 
Brock Zimmer tossed the final innings, striking out two.
 
SNU jumped in front in the bottom of the first inning on a solo homer.
 
The Savage Storm found its answer in the top of the second when Heid cashed in an Ambriz double with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Another solo homer to lead off the bottom of the fourth put SNU back in front 2-1.
 
In the top of the fifth, Showalter and Villa singled and both came home on an Olson RBI single to right, putting Southeastern in front 3-2.
 
Showalter pushed the Savage Storm lead to 4-2 with an RBI single that plated Ambriz in the top of the sixth.
 
In the top of the seventh, Carpenter doubled home Payton and Olson, pushing the lead to 6-2.
 
The Crimson Storm rallied in the bottom of the seventh with s four run inning, knotting the game at 6-6 through seven frames.
 
The Savage Storm responded in the top of the eighth inning as Kirk connected on a two-run homer and was followed a batter when Bush blasted a solo shot, pushing the lead to 9-6.
 
That was where the lead sat entering the top of the ninth until Showalter singled home Ambriz to kick off a huge ninth inning.
 
SE would load the bases for Bush who then connected on his second homer of the day, a grand slam to right center to take a 14-6 lead.
 
The Storm were not finished as they would load the bases again before Heid drew a bases-loaded walk followed by a Showalter two-run single to push the lead to 17-6.
 
A two-run Kirk single extended the lead to 19-6 and two more runs would come home a batter later on a Bush two RBI single to push the lead to 21-6.