Drovers Fall on the Road

WICHITA, Kan. – The story was the same in both games of Tuesday’s losses at Friends University. The University of Science and Arts jumped out to early leads, but Friends rallied with big innings late to win game one 10-5 and game two 8-3.

USAO, now receiving votes in the national top-25 for the first time since the school moved back into the Sooner Athletic Conference, went deep into the bullpen for Tuesday’s starters with a three-game series against No. 2 Oklahoma City beginning Friday.

Jeff Walker got the start in game one and took a 4-2 lead into the fourth inning before Friends took the lead with four runs. Walker, a sophomore from Cyril, was tagged with his second collegiate loss after starting his USAO career 5-0.

Friends scored eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings to rally past the Drovers and secure the game-one win.

In game two, Brian Hunnicutt got the start and only gave up one run on four hits through the first four innings.

Bryan Jones started off the game with a triple and later scored on a double by Daniel Wood. USAO jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning when Ryan Birney drove in Wood with a base hit.

With the Drovers leading 2-1, Friends exploded in the fifth inning for six runs on five hits. Wood scored again on a Birney single in the sixth inning, but USAO couldn’t make up the other five runs.

USAO fell to 13-10-1 overall, but the team can rebound in a big way at home on Friday against SAC leader and second-ranked OCU visiting Bill Smith Ballpark beginning at 2 p.m. The series with OCU concludes on Saturday with a doubleheader in OKC.

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