OTTAWA, Kan. – The Ottawa University baseball team took the first two games of its four game series with Northwestern College on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park. The Braves won game one, 10-3 and took game two, 4-3.
Game One
Ottawa took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs,
Cole Broughton reached first on a walk.
Lukas Rich followed that with a single to right, moving Broughton to second.
Connor Jeffers was hit by a pitch and the Braves had the bases loaded.
Luis Deleon was hit by a pitch, scoring Broughton and OU had a 1-0 lead.
Brandon Kelley's double to right scored Rich and Jeffers, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead.
Ottawa extended its lead in the bottom of the third. Broughton singled to left and then moved to third with a double to right by Rich. Jeffers' single scored both Broughton and Rich and OU had a 5-0 lead.
Jeffers stole second, giving OU a runner in scoring position. Kelley scored Jeffers from second with a single to left to give Ottawa a 6-0 lead.
Northwestern cut into the Brave lead with three runs in the top of the fourth, 6-3. Ottawa earned two of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth. With Jeffers on second, thanks to an infield single, Deleon hit a home run to center and OU had an 8-3 lead.
The Braves pushed two more runs across home plate in the bottom of the sixth. OU took advantage of a Red Raider miscue, scoring two runs to take the lead and the game, 10-3.
Inside the Box Score
- Brandon Kelley was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, finishing with three RBI.
- Connor Jeffers and Lukas Rich had two hits apiece. Jeffers had two RBI.
- Luis Deleon had two RBI as well.
- Tyler Bryant earned his second win of the season, striking out eight in 4.2 innings.
Game Two
The Braves broke the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs and
Brad Grant and
Jonah Weisner on first and second,
Cole Broughton singled to left. His hit scored Grant and moved Weisner to second to give OU a 1-0 lead.
Lukas Rich loaded the bases with a walk. An error by the NWC second baseball scored both Broughton and Weisner and Ottawa had a 3-0 lead. With Jeffers on first and
Alex Kuhn on third, Jeffers got caught in a run down. His ability to make it difficult for the Red Raiders tag him scored Kuhn and OU had a 4-0 lead.
The Red Raiders tried to rally, cutting OU's lead to 4-3 in the top of the sixth. In the seventh
Eric Reece came in for the save. He got the first batter out with a fly out to right. NWC was able to get a runner on with a single. Reece then slammed the door shut on the NWC rally. He got the NWC batter to ground into the 6-4-3 double play and OU took the 4-3 victory.
Inside the Box Score
Who is Next
Ottawa (6-5) returns to the diamond on Saturday, Feb. 18 to finish its four game series with Northwestern College at Alumni Park. Game time is set for 12:00 p.m.
