Clarksville, Ark. – Ozarks put together a three-run rally in the ninth inning, but came up one run short and fell in game three of the series against Louisiana College 8-7.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles (13-23, 5-16) were trailing 8-4. Grady Finley recorded the first hit of the inning and his third of the day with a single through the right side. Next up, Andres Acosta hit a hard ball to short which resulted in an error and allowed Zach Jones to score. Evan Castleberry added a sacrifice fly to bring Ozarks within two runs. After an RBI single up the middle by Fielder Dufrene, the Louisiana College (12-23, 7-14) lead was cut to 8-7. Back-to-back strike outs stranded two runners and closed out the game.
Ozarks recorded two more hits than Louisiana College and had the 13-11 advantage. Dufrene led all batters for the game, going 4-for-5. Six different Eagles' hitters and five different Wildcats had an RBI in today's contest.
The difference in the game boiled down to runners left on base. Ozarks left 11 runners stranded throughout the game, while Louisiana College only left eight on base.
Trey Ducote (1-0) was credited with the win and Miles Holley Jr. picked up his second save of the year for the Wildcats. After 4.1 innings of work for the Eagles, Ely Gordon (4-5) took the loss.
Ozarks will be back in action for a midweek game against Ecclessia College at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26.
By Jackie Bacon
