Hammons Pitches Gem

CHICKASHA – Led by a three-hit complete game shutout by pitcher Nate Hammons, the University of Science and Arts beat Southern Nazarene 6-0 in game one Saturday afternoon and took the first three-game series of league play.

Hammons, a native of Fort Cobb and a transfer from the University of Oklahoma, started the day with a strikeout and ended the day with a strikeout retiring 21 of 23 batters faced and improving his record to 4-0 this season.

Ahead only 1-0, USAO put together a four-run fourth inning that gave Hammons plenty of cushion to pick up the win. Adam Crosbie started off the inning with a double, and he scored two batters later on a single by Ryan Birney. Birney scored from first base on the next at bat when Scott Ylda doubled to right center field.

Junior Bryan Jones went deep with the next at bat for a two-run home run to right field. The bomb was Jones’ second of the season and almost his second of the day. The Wichita Falls, Texas, native led off the bottom of the first inning with a frozen rope double that hit halfway up the right field wall.

Hammons and SNU relief pitcher Grant Ledbetter shut down the opposing offenses for the final three innings giving up just one hit each.

In game two, everything clicked for SNU in the final two innings as the Crimson Storm broke free of a 5-5 tie in the fifth inning with nine runs and avoided the three-game sweep. SNU posted 17 hits against seven USAO pitchers and finished with a 14-5 win.

With the series win, USAO improved to 13-8-1 overall and begins the season in second place in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 2-1 record. Oklahoma City, Lubbock Christian and Wayland Baptist are tied with a 3-0 record.

The Drovers are on the road Tuesday at Friends University in Wichita, Kan., before resuming SAC play with a home game against No. 2 Oklahoma City beginning at 2 p.m. Friday at Bill Smith Ballpark.

USAO Receives Votes

With a 13-8-1 record overall, USAO received votes in the first top-25 poll of the season. If the poll were to be extended to include all those receiving votes, the Drovers would be ranked No. 37.

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