Boll Weevils Take Series with Game 3 Victory

After a split on Saturday the Tigers dropped game 3 on Sunday 6-2 after leading 1-0 after 4 innings.  This puts the Tigers at 5-9 in GSC play with 3 weeks remaining on the schedule.

Game 1 was a nail bitter right down to the final play of the game which was a theme for this past Saturdays double header.  Ouachita struck first with run in the second inning on a throwing error by the UAM catcher.  Scott Wheeler added to that with an RBI single in the third to put the Tigers up 2-0.  The Boll Weevils added single runs of their own in the 4th and 6th innings.  Tigers starter and freshman Steve Smith only lasted 3 2/3 and was relived by Matt Lemmond.

The 7th inning was led off with double by Jeff Robinson and a single by David Fischer and sparked the Tigers to three runs and a 5-2 lead.  Monticello answered back with two of their own only to see the Tigers add another run in the eighth inning off of a RBI double by Mike Fehr.

Coach Norwood went the non-traditional route by choosing to close game one with his game two starter, Tyler Landenberger.  Landenberger recorded his first save of the year as he retired the final out of the game on a very interesting play.  The Monticello hitter popped a ball up to the catcher Jim Streicher, with the ball still in the air the runner advancing from third made contact with Streicher  the ball dropped to the ground in fair territory after touching Streicher's glove.

Originally there was no call made but after a five minute discussion between both umpires and both coaches the correct call was made.  It was an obstruction call on the runner which results in an out and forcing all runners not to advance.  This was the final out and the Tigers hang on for the 6-5 win.  Lemmond got the win and Landenberger the save.

Game 2 was another one run game that did not go in the Tigers favor.  The game was started by the lefty Landenberger who went the full 7 innings and gave the ball up to Nate Fisher who did not record an out. 

The scoring began and ended for the Tigers in the third inning when with two outs Fehr, Andres and Kurosaki had back to back to back hits plating two runs.  Monticello tied the game in the fifth with a couple of hits of their own and locked the game at 2-2. 

The eighth and extra inning was ended when the Boll Weevils reached base with lead off double followed by a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt attempt.  This put runners at second and third after a stolen base.  Nate Fisher was brought into the game and gave up the walk off single through the left side of the infield past the diving glove of Jeff Robinson.  With that Landenberger got the loss after a masterful performance on the day. 

Game 3 showed the Tigers ahead after four innings 1-0.  At that point starter Kyle Malone had given up no runs and was cruising through the Monticello line up.  However, this would change in the fifth when the Weevils put up four runs ending Malone's day.  Will Binkley and Matt Lemmond finished the game for the Tigers only giving up two more runs, one of which was earned, in the loss for Ouachita. 

A late run was added by OBU with a solo homerun by Scott Wheeler in the eighth inning.  The only other chance the Tigers had was when Mike Fehr struck out swinging with the bases loaded in the seventh. 

The loss dropped the Tigers to 5-9 in the Gulf South Conference West with only three series remaining.  Next weeks Battle of the Ravine with Henderson State, followed by an away series with Harding and the season and home finale with Delta State will round out the year for the Tigers who are still hoping to pull off some magic with 9 conference games left. 

The record now is 19-20 which is not at all where first year coach Scott Norwood wanted to be however it is a huge improvement in the program and it is clear to all Tiger baseball fans the the future is bright for OBU baseball. 

2 Grand Slams On Way to 16-5 Win

Scott Wheeler and Mike Fehr each had a grand slam today in the Tigers big win over Lyon College.  This is Ouachita's first win over LC in over 5 years.  Brent Johnson gets his fourth win giving up no runs through 5 2/3 innings. 

The Tigers struck first in the second inning with RBI singles by both David Fischer and Jon Andres.  A run was added in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Scott Wheeler, this was one of 5 RBI on the day for Wheeler who sent a grand slam to dead center in the sixth inning for his second home run of the year.  Mike Fehr also had two RBI in the sixth and 6 RBI on the day while he also hit a grand slam in the Tiger half of the ninth and final inning.  Every Tiger in the lineup had a hit including 6 players with multiple hits.

On the mound Brent Johnson threw 3 innings of a no hitter and finished after 5 2/3 giving up no runs and only three hits.  The rest of the day went to Robin Macon and Nate Fisher to clean up the rest of the big win for OBU. 

This improves the current Tiger win streak to 5 and ties the longest streak of the year.  Tigers are back in action this weekend in Monticello where they will try and gain more ground in the Gulf South West. 

Griffons Roll Past Tigers

Missouri Western took advantage of a very bad day for Tiger baseball and scored 16 runs on their way to a mercy rule victory over Ouachita at Rab Rodgers Field today.  Tyler Landenberger was hit with the loss after giving up 7 runs in the first inning.  The Tigers answered with three but could never get much going again after that. 

The loss dropped the record to just one game above .500 at 12-11.  Coach Norwood and the guys hope to get back on a hot streak this weekend as they face off with Southern Arkansas in Gulf South Conference play. 

 

Tigers Split With SEOSU

 

The Ouachita Tigers opened up the scoring in both games of their non-conference double-header with Southeastern Oklahoma State and then held on for a 7-1 win in the opener, but slipped in the second game in a 4-3 loss.

            The Tigers (12-10) gave game one starter Brent Johnson a big cushion in the bottom of the first inning by putting six runs on the board in their opening frame.

            Ouachita sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored the first runs of the game when Scott Wheeler’s two-RBI single scored Mike Fehr and Brock McCorkle.  Drew Kurosaki drove in David Fischer for the third run of the inning and Jon Andres wrapped up the scoring with a two-RBI double scoring Jay Reynolds and Jim Streicher to give the Tigers the early 6-0 lead.

            Johnson (3-0), making only his third career collegiate start, didn’t allow a run until the top of the third when Bernardo Estrada opened the SOSU half of the inning with a solo home run over the right-center field fence.

            But, after Estrada’s lead-off shot in the third, Johnson settled down and retired the next two Savages on two straight pitches.  In all, Johnson pitched four and two-thirds innings, giving up only one run on four hits while striking out five batters and walking only two Savages.

            Streicher and Andres each had two hits for the Tigers and Andres and Wheeler each drove in two runs. 

            Tommy Keefer was hit with the loss for the Savages after pitching three and two-thirds innings and giving up six earned runs on six hits. Striking out three batters and walking four others.

            In game two, the Tigers also scored in the bottom of the first but it was only one run that came when Fehr stole home on a double steal.

            The Savages (12-9) tied the game in the top of the third when Clint Baker led off with a single and then stole second with Estrada at the plate.  Estrada’s ground out sent Baker to third base and then Baker scored one batter later on Jeremy Barber’s sacrifice fly, tying the game at 1-1.

            SOSU would add another run in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead, but Ouachita answered in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to retake the lead at 3-2.  Andres tripled to left center field with one out and then scored when Fehr singled to right field.

            A double from McCorkle moved Fehr to third base and then Fehr scored on a sacrifice fly from Fischer, but that’s all that the Tigers could muster in the fifth.

            SOSU would answer Ouachita’s two runs with two runs of its own in the sixth inning to take a 4-3 lead.  The Savages scored both of their runs with two outs after two of the first three batters were retired.

            Going into the bottom of the seventh, the Tigers needed one run to extend the game or two to win the game and got started on the right foot with a lead-off single from Fehr.  With the hit and run on and McCorkle at the plate, a pitch that was low and outside kept McCorkle from putting the ball in play, but more importantly gave SOSU catcher Cole Stokes a chance to gun down Fehr at second who was running with the pitch.

            The Tigers never regained the momentum and Savage relief pitcher Sean Dorries picked up the win in two and two-thirds innings of relief.  Ouachita’s Kyle Malone was hit with the loss after giving up four runs in five and two-thirds innings on eight hits.

            Fehr was two-for-three with two runs scored and one RBI and Fischer had one hit and one RBI for the Tigers.

            Ouachita will return to the field Wednesday when they will face Missouri Western State College in a single nine-inning game beginning at 2 p.m.

Back in Alabama, Hoping for Same Results

Ouachita Baseball is heading to Livingston, Alabama this weekend to face off with #9 West Alabama. The Tigers have already been to Alabama once this season where they opened up the season with North Alabama and went 2-0 before returning home.  The Tigers played West Alabama last season in Arkadelphia and won two of the four games in the series. 

The team will be leaving Friday afternoon and returning home late Sunday night after the single game scheduled for Sunday at 1:00, Saturday's scheduled double header will begin at 4:00 and will include the first and only night game of the year for the Tigers.  This is the second of three trips to the "Cotton State" for the Tigers, they will return to Alabama to play University of Montevallo April 19-20. 

The game stories should be updated after the games on Saturday unless no internet connection can be found which will push the updates back to Sunday evening when the Tigers return home.  For all of you Diamond Club members the latest edition of Inside the Dugout will be out Monday after the completion of the UWA series. 

 

Road Win Streak Continues

The OBU Baseball Team remains unbeaten on the road as they took two from Williams Baptist College 17-5 and 8-4. 

An offensive explosion led to the 20 hit performance by the Tiger lineup which was led by second baseman Jon Andres who went 4 for 5 on the day.  Andres did have some company as Brock McCorkle and Justin Ledbetter both had three hits joined with a 2 hit day by David Fischer, Drew Kurosaki, Jim Streicher, and Jay Reynolds.  The 8 run fifth inning was the biggest inning by the Tigers where they had 8 hits as well.  The offense had a great partner in Robin Macon who threw a complete game and settled in nicely after a tough start.  Macon had 5 strikeouts on the day and never gave up an extra base hit of the 9 that the Eagles had.  Macon's record improved to 2-1 on the year.

Game 2 was about the same as game one in that it started out slow for Ouachita.  WBC stuck first again taking a 1-0 lead into the fourth inning were the Tigers jumped on top 2-1 and never looked back.  A six run fifth inning capped off by a Ledbetter 3 run homerun was one of the 6 consecutive hits in that inning by the Tigers.  Brent Johnson started the game on the mound and got the win to remain undefeated on the year at 2-0.  Setup men Will Binkley and Matt Lemmond got some key outs before Nate Fisher came in and closed the door.   

Ouachita will be back in action this weekend as they travel to Livingston, Alabama to face off with #9 University of West Alabama for a three game series.  The Tigers are on their off week during GSC play but will resume with Southern Arkansas University next weekend at Magnolia. 

 

Tigers Win Game 1, Two Bad Innings Lose Game 2

A terrific outing by Robin Macon and the best offensive performance yet lifted the Tigers to a big win in Game one of Tuesday's double header with Iowa Wesleyan.  Game two was plagued by two bad innings.  Of the 12 runs the Tigers gave six up in the fourth and six in the seventh.  These two innings came after OBU collected 5 of their 7 hits in the first three innings, after three the Tigers were up 5-0.

With the split the Tigers move to 8-4 overall and fall to 4-4 at Rab Rodgers Field.  Coach Norwood and the team will look to improve on that record as they host Arkansas Tech this weekend the first week of Gulf South Conference play.  The three game series with the Wonderboys will include a double header on Saturday and a single game on Sunday (9/7/9).

 

Sunday Split Gives Tigers First Loss

A three-run top of the first propelled the Brescia Bearcats to a 5-1 win in game one on Sunday, giving the Ouachita Tigers their first loss of the season, but the Tigers bounced back with a 5-0 win in game two thanks to a complete-game shut-out from freshman pitcher Brent Johnson in his collegiate debut.

 

Ouachita moved its record to 6-1 overall with the wins and Brescia finished the weekend with a 1-4 overall record.  The game three win for the Tigers gave Ouachita with 2-1 series win.

               

The Bearcats put three runs up in the first inning and the Tigers failed to answer in the bottom half of the first as they loaded the bases but left all of the runners stranded.  In the game, Ouachita stranded a total of 10 runners.

 

The Tigers didn’t score their lone run of the game until the bottom of the ninth when A.J. Hughes scored to get the Tigers on the board.  Ouachita had nine hits in the game led by two each from Mike Fehr, David Fischer and Jeremy Orman.

 

Robin Macon (1-1) picked up the loss for the Tigers as he gave up five runs and nine hits over six and one-third innings of work.  Macon struck out three batters and walked none.

 

For Brescia, Juan Diaz-Miron was two-for-four with two runs scored.  Bret hunt drove in two runs for the Bearcats.

 

In game two, Ouachita first baseman Scott Wheeler scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first as he stole home with third baseman Jeff Robinson batting.  Wheeler snuck down the line and as Robinson faked the bunt, he threw off the catcher’s concentration and Wheeler was able to slide in safely.

 

Ouachita would add two in the third and one in the fourth and fifth.  The Tigers only had three hits in the game, but benefited from five Brescia errors.  Drew Kurosaki earned and RBI by walking with the bases loaded and Robinson knocked one run in one batter later in the third.  Wheeler, Robinson and second baseman Jon Andres accounted for Ouachita’s three hits.  Fehr Wheeler and Fischer each had one stolen base while Andres stole two bases in the game

 

Johnson (1-0) went the distance on the mound, giving up no runs on only two hits while striking out two and walking only one batter.  It was Johnson’s first collegiate start.

 

Ouachita will return to Rab Rodgers Field this Thursday when they host Division III Crichton College out of Memphis in a double-header beginning at 1 p.m.

       

Win Streak Goes to 5

The Ouachita Tiger baseball team was trying to get its fifth win in its fifth game of the year and a five-run fifth inning helped them do that Saturday at Rab Rodgers Field as they defeated the Brescia Bearcats 7-4.

 

The Tigers (5-0) helped starting pitcher Kyle Malone by scoring one run in the second and third innings and then five in the fifth to build a 7-2 lead.  Freshman catcher Jim Streicher led off the inning with a double to right field and junior third baseman Justin Ledbetter drove in two runs with a single to left field.

 

The Tigers opened the scoring in the second inning when senior second baseman Jon Andres stole second and then scored from second after the throw from Brescia catcher Tanner Hoel went into center field.

The Tigers scored their nine runs on nine hits, but left 10 base-runners stranded including three in the bottom of the first.

  

Malone (2-0) picked up the win, going six innings and giving up three earned runs on seven hits, striking out one and walking three.

           

Sophomore Matt Lemmond entered in relief of Malone in the seventh inning and faced seven batters including two in the ninth.  Lemmond got out of a possible eighth-inning jam when center fielder Mike Fehr tracked down a fly ball to right center field and doubled up the Brescia runner at second base to end the inning.

           

With the Tigers leading 7-3 in the top of the ninth, Brescia scored one run and had runners on second and third when closer Nathan Fisher made his fourth appearance of the season in an attempts to remain perfect in save attempts.

           

Fisher struck out one batter and got the third our on a ground ball to first base as senior first baseman Scott Wheeler scooped up the grounder and flipped to Fisher to end the game.

           

Designated hitter David Fischer was three-for-five with two RBI and one run scored and Andres was two-for-four with two runs scored as well.  Ledbetter also registered two RBI on his single in the fifth.

           

Brescia also had nine hits with shortstop Juan Diaz-Miron and designated hitter Nathan Parks each leading the way with two hits a piece.

           

The Tigers and Bearcats will meet in a double-header on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12 p.m.  The schedule originally called for a Saturday double-header but the schedule was adjusted due to travel difficulties for Brescia.

 

           

 

Tiger Baseball Sweeps SE Oklahoma

 

The Ouachita Tiger baseball team improved to 4-0 on the season with a 9-7, 5-2 sweep of Southeastern Oklahoma State Wednesday afternoon in Durant, Oklahoma. It was the season opener for the Savages, who were ranked No. 31 in the nation in the pre-season Division II baseball poll.

The wins over Southeastern Oklahoma State were the first in a long time over the Savages, who were the 2000 NCAA Division II National Champions. Dating back to 1981, the Tigers were 0-23 against SOSU.

“It was a really good day for our guys,” said Ouachita head coach Scott Norwood. “I think these wins along with the wins at North Alabama last weekend have really given them confidence that they can play with the best teams.”

The day started off as good as possible for the Tigers as sophomore center fielder Mike Fehr and sophomore shortstop Brock McCorkle opened the top of the first with back-to-back home runs. SOSU would add one in the bottom of the first off of freshman pitcher Steve Smith and then scored five runs in the fourth inning before Smith was replaced by Robin Macon.

Despite the rough fourth inning, Norwood was pleased with Smith’s overall performance in his collegiate debut.

“The only thing that really hurt him was that he got behind a couple of batters in the fourth,” said Norwood. “He struck out five and he had to pitch with a small lead because the offense didn’t really give him much run support. It wasn’t a bad effort for his first start.”

After SOSU took the lead in the fourth, Macon came in and held the Savages at bay, pitching one and one-third inning and giving up one run on two hits. The Tigers were able to get out of jams during the game as they stranded 10 runners on the base paths.

Macon shut down SOSU in the fifth and the Tigers exploded for six runs in the top of the sixth to take an 8-6 lead. Freshman catcher Jim Streicher scored Drew Kurosaki from second to start the scoring and McCorkle knocked in two runs with a single to right field. In all, the Tigers scored six runs on five hits in the inning.

Senior closer Nathan Fisher took the mound in the sixth inning and after an RBI double from SOSU to cut the lead to 8-7, Fisher then struck out two of the final four batters he faced to earn his third save in as many tries.

McCorkle and Fehr each had three RBI and McCorkle led the Tiger offense with two hits.

In game two, junior pitcher Tyler Landenberger went the distance to up his record to 2-0 on the season. In seven innings, Landenberger gave up only two runs and one walk while striking out eight batters. Landenberger threw 116 pitches on four days rest in the win.

“Tyler was really something else today in that second game,” said Norwood. “He seemed to get stronger as he went and struck out five of the last seven batters he faced.”
The Tiger defense also helped Landenberger – as well as Smith, Macon and Fisher in game one – by not committing an error in either game in the field.

“One of the most encouraging things about the day was seeing our defense not commit a single error,” said Norwood. “It just gives the pitchers so much more confidence when they know they have a defense behind them that will get people out if the ball is put in play.”

Ouachita opened the scoring in the third inning with three runs on two hits and benefited from three SOSU errors in the inning.

The Tigers added two insurance runs in the sixth inning. Kurosaki launched a moon shot over the left field fence and Mike Fehr walked four batters later, scoring David Magness who had also reached on a walk.

Designated hitter David Fischer had two RBI in the game on two hits for the Tigers who scored their five runs on only five hits.

The Tigers will play in their home opener this weekend as they host Brescia University of Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday. A Saturday double-header is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and the series finale on Sunday in slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
-by Chris Babb on 2/17/2005

 

Tigers Open 2005 Season With Two Wins Over No. 37 North Alabama

 

                FLORENCE, ALABAMA – The Ouachita Tigers got good pitching and timely hitting in their first two games which was a recipe for two wins over No. 37 North Alabama 6-5 and 6-3 in the season-opening weekend, moving the Tigers to 2-0 on the young season.

    The Tigers were scheduled to play North Alabama once Saturday and once Sunday and Bellarmine University out of Kentucky once on each day as well, but the schedule was adjusted due to the threat of rain on Sunday.  UNA ended up playing both schools twice on Saturday for a quadruple-header.  The game between Ouachita and Bellarmine that was moved to Sunday was indeed rained out.

    “I was really pleased with our pitching in both games the way they were able to go deep into the game,” said head coach Scott Norwood, who picked up wins in his first two games as the Tiger skipper.  “Tyler (Landenberger) settled down after the first inning of game one and gave us some good innings, and Kyle (Malone) really did a good job in the second game.  Combined, we only walked two batters today and then Nathan (Fisher) really came in and closed the door like a closer is supposed to do.”

    In game one against UNA, the Tigers put up three runs in the top of the first inning and held on for a 6-5 win.  The Tigers never trailed in the game and held a 5-1 lead in the fifth inning before UNA put up three in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Ouachita lead to 5-4.  The Tigers added an insurance run in the top of the sixth when sophomore shortstop Brock McCorkle scored on a wild pitch.

    Junior starter Tyler Landenberger (1-0) picked up the win in his first start as a Tiger, pitching five innings and giving up four earned runs and striking out three while walking only one.  Senior closer Nathan Fisher picked up his first save as he entered in relief of Landenberger in the sixth and gave up only one hit out of seven batters faced.  The Tigers collected 10 hits, all coming from five players.  Sophomore center fielder Mike Fehr, McCorkle, sophomore designated hitter David Fischer, junior third baseman Justin Ledbetter and senior second baseman Jon Andres all had two base hits. 

    Fischer, senior first baseman Scott Wheeler and freshman catcher Jim Streicher each had one RBI.

    In game two, the teams were scoreless until the floodgates opened for the Tigers in the top of the fourth.

    Wheeler launched a three-run home run to break open the scoring and the Tigers would add another run to go up 4-0 after their half of the fourth.  That’s all that the Tiger pitching staff and defense would need as starter Kyle Malone (1-0) gave up six hits and only one earned run in six innings of work and Fisher entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and thwarted a comeback attempt from the Lions to seal the 6-3 win.

    McCorkle led the way for the Tigers on offense with two hits, but it was Wheeler’s three RBI that got the Tigers going.

    “Scott’s homer really seemed to wake us up and get us going in that second game,” said Norwood.  “We played good defense all day only committing two errors, but I was happy with our hitting too.  We got 10 hits in the first game, and any time you are able to come up with 10 hits in a game, you should be putting your team in a position to win.  That’s what we did and we’ve got to keep going.  It was good to get off to a good start, but we’ve also got to remember that it’s a long season ahead of us.”

    Ouachita will hit the road again on Wednesday to face No. 31 Southeastern Oklahoma State in Durant, Oklahoma for a double-header.  The first home games of the 2005 season will be this weekend, February 19-20, when Ouachita will host Brescia University with a double-header on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.

 

Opening Day Within a Week

Coach Norwood and the Tigers will load the bus this Friday to open at 10:00 am Saturday morning against the 37th ranked North Alabama Lions.  UNA is a fellow member of the Gulf South Conference but are in the Eastern Division.  The Tigers split with UNA last season during a spring break double header here at Rab Rodgers Field.  After game one on Saturday the team will face off with the Knights of Bellarmine University of the Great Lakes Valley Conference at 4:00 pm.  UNA will host the Tigers one final time Sunday afternoon at 3:00 pm before the team heads back home.  All three games will be 7 innings.  Just a reminder that these games will NOT be broadcast over the internet.

The Tigers will return home for two days before heading out to Durant, Oklahoma to play 31st ranked Southeastern Oklahoma State University Wednesday, February 16.  The double header (2/7) will begin at 1:00 pm. 

 

Tigers Will Begin Fall Practice with 32 Players

Following the opening team meeting, first year head coach Scott Norwood was pleasantly surprised to see 32 guys show up to play fall baseball for the Tigers.  Norwood, who spent most of the summer recruiting, knew that the fall would be a crowded one, but is excited about the number of walk-ons that showed interest in the program. 

This year's pitching staff will also be the largest one in recent memory which is nothing but a positive sign.  Coach Justin Haire, who will spend most of his time in the bullpen, cannot wait to get started.  "With this many guys we know that it will provide some healthy competition which is just going to boost all the players," said Haire. 

For a complete look at the names on the fall roster, make sure to click on the roster link.