Clarksville, Ark.-Freshman pitcher Ely Gordon tossed eight innings and then turned it over to teammate Jacob Barker to close out the ninth as Ozarks won 5-4 to give new head coach Aaron Gentry his first collegiate win as a head coach.

Gordon had an outstanding game in his debut, allowing just five hits and striking out three. Three of those hits came in the first inning as LaGrange took a quick 4-0 advantage. Ozarks' offense produced a run in the third and fourth innings, and then evened the score 4-4 in the fifth. Justin Crider had an RBI double in the third and Fielder Dufrene had an RBI single in the fourth. Patrick Clifford then ripped a double to score Crider and Dean Igert in the fifth. Clifford came up big in the top of the ninth to provide the heroics for Ozarks. Igert started the rally with a single, and Crider recorded a sacrifice bunt to advance Igert a base. Andrew Beck would then groundout to move Igert to third. Clifford delivered the game-winning hit, putting Ozarks in front 5-4. Barker was inserted in the bottom of the ninth to secure the game and did just that to receive his first save of the season.
    
"The poise our team showed after being down 4-0 in the first inning was phenomenal," said Gentry. "Ely had a gritty pitching performance and kept us in the game. Our team took advantage of opportunities, chipped away and got clutch hits. Patrick had a great day at the plate and Barker did a nice job closing it out."

Igert went 3-for-5 and Clifford finished 2-for-5 with three RBI.

Ozarks will face Huntingdon College February 14 to finish out the Millsaps College Tournament.