SWOSU baseball played a three-game series this past weekend against SNU and brought home three wins for a sweep.
They opened the series on Friday, and it was a statement win. The Bulldogs came out on fire, scoring three runs in the first inning. These runs came from multiple base hits and aggressive base running that worked in their favor. The strong hitting is what carried the Dawgs through this game. Managing to only have two innings of not scoring, and just about every bulldog in the line-up racked up at least a single, if not more. The game ended in a 16-6 win for the Bulldogs. Having this major of a win, the Dawgs hoped to carry it into the next day and finish out the series. SWOSU has yet to find wins after winning the opening game of a series, so they had to push to find a way.
Now, going into Saturday, SWOSU wanted to continue what they started yesterday. SNU was the first team to score in the first inning, but the Bulldogs responded with one run of their own. Struggling to find their footing, the Dawgs gave up another run to SNU in the top of the second. This was where SWOSU busted the game open, scoring five runs in the bottom of the second. They were finding gaps and working base-to-base to score runs.
SNU could not seem to slow down the bats of SWOSU, as the Dawgs over the next two innings scored nine runs. SNU tried changing pitchers, but the Bulldogs were all over them. It was clear they knew what to expect with SNU, and they prepared for it. They stayed disciplined in the box and worked the counts into their favor until they got a pitch they could explode on.
This was also one of the strongest games the Bulldogs’ bullpen has had. No. 31 Will David was the starting pitcher, and he went five innings and allowed only three runs. SNU struggled to find a pitch to hit as David worked the river every batter and stayed ahead in most of the counts. He was then taken out, and No. 14 Conner Watson was sent in as relief in the sixth inning. He gave up one hit but then went on to strike out the next three. SWOSU then sent in No. 20 Jayden Minter to close out the game. He did not give up a single hit, but he did walk one. SNU didn’t get anywhere with it, though, as Minter struck out the next two batters and a groundout to end the game in a 13-3 win for SWOSU.
With only one more game left in the series, the Bulldogs only needed one more win to secure a sweep. This game turned into a pitcher’s duel for the first few innings as both teams went scoreless. No. 35 Jared Adams got the start, and he pitched these scoreless innings until giving up a couple of singles and a run in the top of the fourth. This was the only run scored by SNU in this game. No. 29 Garrett Folmar came in to relieve Adams, and he went on to only give up one hit over 2.2 innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, that’s when SWOSU found some runs. These runs came from only two hits, but what they capitalized on was SNU giving up three walks and hitting two batters. This gave the Bulldogs all the momentum they needed to go on and score four runs. No. 34 Kaegan Baker came in the seventh after Folmar threw one out. Baker then got the next two batters out to earn him the save and SWOSU a 4-1 win and a series sweep.
These games proved to the Bulldogs that they can finish a series and find a way to win with a little bit of energy and drive. SWOSU now sits with a record of 6-6 in conference play. They are now traveling to Ada, Oklahoma, this Tuesday to play one game against East Central at 2 p.m.
