Clarksville, Ark. - The University of the Ozarks baseball team used a big seventh inning and a dominant pitching performance to defeat McMurry University 10-1 on Friday in game one in Clarksville.
Jake Dempsey delivered a complete-game gem on the mound for the Eagles. The right-hander allowed just four hits and one unearned run across nine innings while walking one and striking out two to earn his third win of the season.
Ozarks struck first in the opening inning when
Gabriel Ellison launched a two-run home run to left field, scoring
Taber Childs to give the Eagles an early 2–0 lead. McMurry cut the deficit to 2–1 in the third inning on an RBI groundout from Tatum Black, but Dempsey limited the damage and kept the War Hawks off the board the rest of the way. The Eagles added key insurance in the fifth when
Langdon Townsend blasted a three-run homer to center field to extend the lead to 5–1. Ozarks then broke the game open in the seventh inning with five runs. Townsend started the rally with an RBI fielder's choice, followed by an RBI groundout from
Brett Burks.
Joseph Coon delivered a two-run single up the middle, and Childs capped the inning with an RBI single to right center to make it 10–1.
Ozarks finished with 11 hits in the game. Childs,
Connor Reed, and
Rene Garcia each recorded two hits to lead the offense, while Townsend drove in a game-high four RBIs.
Game two
McMurry used an explosive early offensive surge to defeat the Eagles 15-3 in game two.
The War Hawks jumped ahead immediately in the first inning to a 3-0 lead. McMurry added to its advantage in the second to move ahead 6-0. Ozarks answered in the bottom half of the inning as
Rene Garcia singled to shortstop, driving in
Brett Burks and
Matthew McDonald to cut the deficit to 6-2. The War Hawks broke the game open in the third inning, scoring five runs and led 11-2. The War Hawks capped their scoring in the eighth inning when Collin Bruning hit a three-run homer to right field to make it 15-3.
Matthew McDonald and
Langdon Townsend each collected two hits for Ozarks, while Garcia drove in two of the Eagles' three runs.
The Eagles and War Hawks finish their series Saturday at 1 p.m.
