Boxscore
EDMOND (April 5) – Brad Lamberti doubled home two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and Central Oklahoma finished off Fort Hays State, 16-6, to salvage a split of the four-game series Saturday afternoon at W. Simmons Field.
With the victory the Bronchos improved to 24-9 on the season and 19-9 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, while FHSU fell to 12-20 and 10-18 in the MIAA.
"We fought hard all weekend," head coach Dax Leone said. "Even when we fell behind we were able to battle back. It was good to get an easy win today and I think we learned a lot about the resolve of our team."
UCO took advantage of a sloppy FHSU defense as only four of the 16 runs were earned and the Bronchos broke the game open in the third inning with seven unearned runs in taking an 11-1 lead. Dilon Argo, Phillip Wilson and Matt Johnson all clubbed home runs in that frame.
The Tigers were able to cut into the lead thanks to a pair of home runs by James Denton, who entered the game batting .091 (3-for-33). His second homer came in the fourth inning and made it 11-4 and chased starter Jared Sterling from the game.
Wilson came on in relief and pitched the final 3 1/3 innings to get his first win of the season. The senior right-hander allowed two runs on six hits and struck out five, while also going 3-for-5 at the plate with a homer and three runs batted in.
For the series Wilson hit .765 (13-for-17) with five doubles, two homers and six RBIand he scored seven times, while also earning a win and a save on the mound.
The Bronchos scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 14-4 as Dylan Raper hit a pinch hit run-scoring triple and UCO needed three outs to end the game on the 10-run rule.
FHSU stayed alive had three consecutive hits and two runs in the top of the seventh to avoid the run rule, but it set the stage for Lamberti's walkoff hit in the bottom of the inning.
Jake O'Brien and Argo both drove in three runs, while Johnson and Lamberti each drove in two. O'Brien did it all weekend as he hit .688 (11-for-16) for the series with a home run and seven runs batted in.
The Bronchos hit the road for six games, starting with a doubleheader at Austin College on Tuesday.
