Sooner Athletic Conference

Chaps Upset OCU To Get to SAC Tourney Championship

Posted by Chris Due - Sat, May. 5, 2012 - [ Baseball ] - Viewed 406 times

Ryan Burnaman Had An RBI Double and Recorded a Two-Inning Save

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 4, 2012) - No.24 Lubbock Christian University moved into the Sooner Athletic Conference championship game with a 6-5 upset win over No.2 Oklahoma City University Friday night at Jim Wade Stadium. They will face No.8 Oklahoma Baptist University Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bison Field in Shawnee, Okla.

The Chap struck first in the game with a 3-0 lead with a trio of runs in the top of the second inning. Paul Prestera drove in a pair with a single to left field and Ryan Burnaman followed with a double to left centerfield to score Prestera from first base. Both hits came with two outs. OCU tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the third inning. An infield error opened the door for OCU to tie the game, as it allowed OCU to score their first run. Miguel Beltran hit a sacrifice fly and Dane Phillips hit a two-out double to tie the game at 3-3. The Chaps grabbed their three-run lead back with JT Bean hitting a chopper up the middle to allow Brent Leslie to score for a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning. A lead-off triple by Richard Bohlken to left field led to an RBI single by Karl Seiter and Jordan Lewis grounded out to grab an RBI and a 6-3 LCU lead. The triple by Bohlken and Seiter extended each of their hit streaks to 15 games. Bohlken has also reached base safely in 33 straight games.

OCU rallied in the eighth inning with a two-run home run by Miguel Beltran for his NAIA leading 24^th homer of the season. His home run was nearly robbed by LCU centerfielder Reagan Pearson, who scaled the wall, but had the ball deflected off his glove and over the fence. Ryan Burnaman replaced Tyler Rogers on the mound and closed out the game with his third save of the season.

Rogers pitched seven innings and allowed five runs, three earned, off seven hits and claimed the win to improve to 9-4 on the season. Six players had multi-hit performances for a third straight game and they combined for 15 hits in the game (team is averaging 19 hits a game in the tournament). Seiter led LCU with a 3-for-5 plate performance. Paul Prestera went 2-for-4 and is now 8-for-11 (.727) in the tournament. Chris Munoz of OCU (2-for-5) was the only Stars member with more than one hit in the game.

LCU improved to 33-19 with the win and they have won five straight games. OCU fell to 43-9 and they had their eight-game win streak come to an end. The Chaps are seeking to become the second consecutive fourth-seeded team to win the SAC Tournament after Rogers State completed the task last season. LCU last claimed the SAC Tournament Championship in 2009.