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Kyle Crowl at the plate for UCO -
Jaden Skupien prepares a pitch -
Brendan Ezell at second base -
Kyle Crowl touches home plate after his second 3-run home run -
Zach Sanchez at the plate for OC
Kyle Crowl found his pitch and sent it over the wall for the second time of the night.
Crowl hit a pair of big home runs Tuesday night as he led the Central Oklahoma baseball team to a 20-0 run-rule victory against Oklahoma Christian at Wendell Simmons Field.
UCO (9-5) scored multiple runs in four innings of the six inning it batted.
OC (6-5) entered the game on a five-game road winning streak but had no answers for the Bronchos.
UCO coach John Martin said the Bronchos came ready to play.
“We made some good defensive plays, and then we were just ready to hit,” Martin said. “We just were in attack mode the whole day. We kept it going. We didn’t relax at all, and that’s what you’re supposed to do and how you can play.”
Crowl, a senior shortstop, hit two 3-run home runs. He led the team with 7 RBIs. Junior catcher Garrett Takamatsu added 5. Starting pitcher Brayden Nelson, a senior, retired all nine batters he faced before sophomore Colton Croft relieved him to begin the fourth.
Crowl said he feels good about the way he has played.
“I’ve been hitting the ball really well,” Crowl said. “We really focused this last week at practice on having a different kind of approach for us and kind of driving balls the other way and staying in the middle. I did a good job doing that tonight, and a lot of other guys did a really good job, too. Garrett Takamatsu did the same thing as me tonight, basically, but without guys on base. He was awesome tonight, and everybody else was really awesome.
UCO scored 4 runs before OC recorded an out, starting with Crowl’s first homer. OC starting pitcher Chase Berberich, a junior, exited the game without recording an out. He was charged with all 6 of UCO’s first inning runs.
UCO did not score in the second but added 7 runs in the third and 5 in the fourth.
OC coach Lonny Cobble said the Eagles’ bad start started a snowball effect.
“We just didn’t pitch very well,” Cobble said. “It was one of those days where we gave up, in the first four innings, I think we gave up 12 free passes, either hit batters or walk people. You’re just not going to win a game doing that.”
This was the first time OC allowed 20 or more runs since May 6, 2010, when the Eagles fell 24-8 to Rogers State. It was also the biggest margin of defeat for the Eagles since a 27-2 loss to Lubbock Christian on April 6, 1998.
UCO’s 20 runs was the most in a game since April 11, 2018, when the Bronchos defeated Northeastern State 24-4. Crowl’s 7 RBIs is tied with numerous players for 8th-most in a game in school history.