OKLAHOMA CITY – Outfielders Brandon Ulmer and Blayse Quarnstrom hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth inning as University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Baseball won its 13th straight season opener Thursday, 8-6, at Oklahoma Christian.
The Lions led 6-2 entering the bottom of the eighth, only to see the Eagles score four times to tie the game. Ulmer and Quarnstrom then led off the ninth with solo blasts to put UAFS back in front and Jakob Petross threw a scoreless bottom half of the inning to secure the win.
Petross struck out two in 1.1 innings of work.
Quarnstrom set the table for the Lions' lineup, going 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs from the top of the order. The top three hitters in the lineup combined to go 10-for-15 with two homers, five runs and seven RBIs.
Down 1-0 in the top of the third, the Lions scored their first runs of the season on a two-run single by infielder Noah Davis. The very next batter – infielder Nico Patrick – then hit a two-run homer down the left field line for a 4-1 lead.
Davis and Patrick were second and third in the lineup, with Davis going 4-for-5 with a run and three RBIs and Patrick going 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.
UAFS extended the lead in the fourth with a pair of runs on RBIs by Quarnstrom and Davis.
Grant Shankle got the start for the Lions, tossing four innings and allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. Lukas Petross threw 3.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs on four hits with one punchout.
The Lions continue the series Friday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
