DURANT, Okla. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Baseball swept a doubleheader at Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday, defeating the Savage Storm 3-1 and 13-6.
UAFS next begins a stretch of 13 of 15 games at home Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Oklahoma Baptist at Crowder Field.
UAFS 3, Southeastern 1
Starter Grant Shankle earned the win as he allowed just one run on four hits over five innings while striking out three. Chase Pair then came on in relief to pitch the final two innings for the save, allowing two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
Pair escaped a bases loaded, not out jam in the sixth by recording a strikeout and a double play on a flyout and an outfield assist by Randon Ray. Pair also stranded the bases loaded in the seventh.
Infielder Noah Davis provided all the offense Shankle needed, delivering a two-run double in the top of the second. After SEOSU got one back in the fourth, outfielder Sammy Seeger collected an RBI single in the fifth to put the Lions back up by two.
UAFS 13, Southeastern 6
The Lions scored four runs in the top of the first as they led for the entirety of game two to earn the sweep.
After the Savage Storm answered with three runs in the bottom half of the opening frame, the Lions added two more in the second on back-to-back RBI doubles by infielder Nico Patrick and designated hitter Dan Taylor.
The runs kept coming in the top of the third, as the Lions took advantage of an error on the Storm to score once before Patrick drove in two more on a single up the middle for a 9-3 lead. UAFS then added single tallies in the fourth and fifth to score in each of the first five innings.
Southeastern had another three-run inning in the sixth, but the Lions added two insurance runs in the seventh on another RBI double by Taylor and an RBI groundout by outfielder Cooper White.
White and Patrick each drove in three runs, with Patrick finishing 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Taylor also had three hits and two runs scored. Davis tallied two hits and scored three runs.
Aden Almeida started and picked up the win on the mound, allowing six runs on seven hits over five-plus innings. He struck out three. Khaden Washington closed out the game by tossing the final two scoreless innings.