C of O Baseball Sweeps Weekend Series

The College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats made the most of their home field this weekend sweeping a four game series.

The release from College of the Ozarks Sports Information is below:

Coming off a split with Baptist Bible College earlier in the week, the College of the Ozarks Baseball Bobcats entered a weekend series with Dallas Christian College. Looking to build momentum heading into the post season, the Bobcats were set to host the final eight games of the regular season at Coach Bob Smith Field. The four games with Dallas Christian on Friday and Saturday will be followed by the final series of the season against Ecclesia College next weekend. 

C of O vs Dallas Christian College – Game 1  
With Trenton Hyde making his second start of the season on the mound, the Bobcats looked to get the momentum rolling. The Crusaders of Dallas Christian College had ideas of their own, however, and jumped on the scoreboard in the opening frame. An error followed by a Crusader double, put runners at second and third with no outs. Hyde retired the next two batters then a walk and a hit by pitch allowed the Crusaders to take the early 1-0 lead. A groundout to second ended the top of the first and the Bobcats came to the plate. Chuck Hill led off with a walk in the bottom half of the inning and moved to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. Caleb Johnson drew a one out walk, but a double steal was foiled and Hill was thrown out at home. A groundout ended the frame and the game moved to the second inning. Hyde disposed of the Crusaders in order in the second and Trey Riley started the offense for the Bobcats. A single to right was followed by a Cadan Kauffman hit by pitch. Titus Atkins ripped an RBI single to left and the Bobcats were on the board. A popup to the catcher resulted in a miscommunication for the Crusaders and the two base runners moved to second and third. A fielder’s choice allowed Kauffman to score and the Bobcats took a 2-1 lead to the third. Hyde pitched around a pair of singles to start the third to maintain the 2-1 lead, and the Bobcats went down in order in their half. A pair of walks and an error to start the fourth put the Crusaders in a good position to score but Hyde buckled down and retired the next three batters to hold on to the 2-1 lead. The Bobcats went down in order again in the bottom half and Devin McCullough come on to pitch in relief. After recording two quick outs, a pair of singles and a walk allowed the Crusaders to push a run across and the game moved to the bottom of the fifth tied 2-2. The Bobcat bats remained silent in the fifth and McCullough pitched around a one out single with the aid of a double play and the game moved to the bottom of the sixth knotted at 2-2. A two-out hit by pitch to Spencer Green broke a string of 12 straight batters retired by the Crusader pitcher but a strikeout ended the inning and the Bobcat bats were still non-existent. A hit by pitch and a strikeout started the Crusader half of the second and a two-run homer put DCC on top, 4-2. A double play ended the Crusader charge and the Bobcats needed at least a pair of runs to extend the game. Cadan Kauffman smacked a double down the right field line to start the Bobcat seventh and Rhett Hill ripped a one-out, pinch hit single to left to give the Bobcats runners at the corners. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Isaiah Smith scored Kauffman and the Bobcats were down to their final out, trailing 4-3. After a passed ball moved the runner to second, Chuck Hill was granted an intentional walk. With runners at first and second and the Bobcats down to their last out, Ryan Daggs took a 1-2 pitch into right center for a two RBI double and the Bobcats took game one 5-4.

Devin McCullough notched the win on the mound and Ryan Daggs had the big hit to lead the offense. Daggs had one hit, including the two walk-off RBI’s. Trey Riley, Cadan Kauffman (2B), Titus Atkins, and Rhett Hill each garnered a hit in the win and Isaiah Smith drove in two of the five runs to keep the Bobcats in the game.

C of O vs Dallas Christian College – Game 2
Riley Loyd took the hill in game two for the Bobcats, looking to keep the momentum rolling from game one. A walk and a pair of singles put the Crusaders on the board and gave them the early 1-0 lead. The Bobcats were determined to keep the momentum and doubles by Chuck Hill, Spencer Greene, and Caleb Johnson tied the score at 1-1 heading to the second, The Crusaders threatened after two quick outs in the second but Loyd induced a groundout to escape with no further damage. The Bobcats went down in order in their half of the second and Loyd returned the favor to the Crusaders in the third. The bottom of the third brought the Bobcat bats to life. Isaiah Smith led off with a double to left and Chuck Hill followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Smith and give the Cats a 2-1 lead. A wild pitch advanced Hill to second and Ryan Daggs drew a walk. A runner picked off and a pair of flyouts to center ended the Bobcat threat and they would take the 2-1 lead to the fourth. Dallas Christian responded in the top of the fourth with a solo blast over the left field fence to tie the score, 2-2, and the tug of war was on. A single, an error, and a triple would score two more Crusader runs and Rhett Hill came to the mound in relief. Hill retired the next two Crusaders and the Bobcats came to the plate trailing 4-2. Rhett Hill led off the inning with a walk and two outs later, Titus Atkins doubled to left to drive him in. An Isaiah Smith single put runners at the corners, but the Bobcats were unable move them any further and they trailed 4-3 heading to the fifth. A hit and a walk was all the Crusaders could get in the fifth and the Bobcats needed baserunners with the late innings creeping in. Spencer Greene reached on an error with one out and Caleb Johnson stepped in. Ripping a double into the gap in left-center, Greene came all the way around to score the tying run making it 4-4. A double play ended the inning and the game moved to the sixth in a deadlock. Hill held the Crusaders at bay in the sixth and Cadan Kauffman started the offense in the bottom of the sixth with a hit by pitch, but was erased trying to steal second. Titus Atkins walked, and Isaiah Smith reached on an infield single to get things started again. A single by Chuck Hill opened things up as the runners advanced. As the throw came home, the ball was cut and the throw to third sailed over the fielder’s head and all the runners, including Hill, came around to score. Ryan Daggs followed with a single and Caleb Johnson drilled a two-run shot over the left field fence. Rhett Hill reached on a hit by pitch and Trey Riley doubled to score another run. When the dust settled, the Bobcat lead was 10-4 and Rhett Hill took care of business in the top of the seventh to secure the 10-4 win.

Rhett Hill picked up the win on the mound and Chuck Hill(2B), Caleb Johnson(2-2B, HR), and Isaiah Smith (2B), led the offensive charge with three hits each. Johnson ripped a pair of doubles and a homerun for four RBI’s. Ryan Daggs, Spencer Greene (2B), Trey Riley (2B), and Titus Atkins (2B), each added a hit in the win.

C of O vs Dallas Christian College – Game 3  
After taking the first two games Friday, the Bobcats sent Colin Pyatt to the mound with a four game sweep in mind. Pitching around a pair of singles in the first inning, Pyatt kept the Crusaders off the board and the Bobcats came to bat. Chuck Hill got the day started with a bang, driving the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a solo homerun and a 1-0 Bobcat lead. Spencer Greene followed with a one out single but that was all the Bobcats could get. Both pitchers took care of business in the second and neither team could generate offence. The Crusaders threatened in the third with a trio of singles to load the bases but Pyatt pitched out of the jam to put up another zero. Chuck Hill kept his bat hot and drilled a one out double into the left field corner in the Bobcat third. Spencer Greene traded places with Hill on a two-out RBI double and the Bobcats led 2-0. Caleb Johnson followed with an RBI single to score Greene and the lead expanded to 3-0. A groundout ended the inning and the game moved to the fourth. The Crusaders came to life in the fourth inning scoring four runs on a pair of walks, a Bobcat miscue, and a homerun. The Bobcats quickly responded in the bottom of the fourth when Titus Atkins led off with a double and Cadan Kauffman walked. A textbook sacrifice bunt by Zane Kelley moved the runners to second and third and both runners scored on an Isaiah Smith flyball that was misplayed by the Crusader left fielder. Smith landed on third on the play and an RBI double off the bat of Chuck Hill drove him in to give the Bobcats a 6-4 lead going to the fifth. Joe Lee, who came on in relief of Colin Pyatt in the fourth inning, pitched a scoreless fifth inning and the Bobcats came up looking for more. A quick three up-three down inning sent the game to the sixth and the Bobcats needed six more outs to secure the win. The Crusaders had different plans and challenged in the sixth. A single and a homerun tied the game and a walk brought in Tyler Buchanan to pitch. A misplayed ball scored the go-ahead run for the crusaders and a single added another tally to make it 8-6, DCC. The Bobcats had work to do if a win would be in the cards. Cadan Kauffman started things off with a double and the Bobcat rally was on. An RBI single by Zane Kelley cut the lead to 8-7 and Isaiah Smith singled to keep the line moving. Chuck Hill continued his monster game with a double and another RBI and Ryan Daggs reached on an error to score another pair of runs. Spencer Greene hit a sacrifice fly to score another run and Caleb Johnson singled. A Titus Atkins RBI single made it 12-8 heading to the seventh. Ryan Daggs came on in relief and closed the game with three strikeouts to secure the 12-8 win.

Tyler Buchanan picked up the win for the Bobcats and Chuck Hill’s dominant day at the plate led the offense.  Hill was perfect at the plate with three doubles, a homerun, three runs scored, and three RBIs. Spencer Greene, Caleb Johnson, and Titus Atkins each added two hits and Cadan Kauffman, Zane Kelley, and Isaiah Smith had one hit each in the win.

C of O vs Dallas Christian College – Game 4 
Spencer Greene stepped on the mound in game four as the Bobcats looked for the sweep over the Crusaders. Green retired the first six batters he faced, and the Bobcat bats came to life in the bottom of the second. Cadan Kauffman led off with a single but was picked off. Back-to-back singles by Zane Kelley and Trey Riley set the stage for a three-run blast off the bat of Isaiah Smith and a 3-0 lead for the Bobcats. Chuck Hill kept things moving with a double to left and Ryan Daggs ripped a double the other way. Spencer Greene and Caleb Johnson followed with back-to-back singles and the Crusaders recorded the second out. Cadan Kauffman hit his second single of the inning and Zane Kelley doubled for another RBI. A groundout ended the inning and the Bobcats took an 8-0 lead to the third. Greene remained perfect through three and a third innings before giving up a single in the fourth. The door was slammed shut following the hit and the game moved to the bottom of the fourth. The Bobcats went down with only a Zane Kelley single in the fourth and Greene pitched around a leadoff single in the top of the fifth to retire the Crusaders. Isaiah Smith led off the Bobcat fifth with a single and stole second. A Ryan Daggs shot over the left field fence added a pair of runs and the Bobcat lead grew to 10-0. Spencer Greene kept the base paths busy with a single, and back-to-back walks to Caleb Johnson and Titus Atkins loaded the bases. The next two Bobcats were retired, and the game moved to the sixth. Greene continued to cruise on the mound and put DCC down in order. Smith and Hill singled in the bottom half, but they were left stranded and Greene went back to the mound to try and close out the game. A leadoff single was erased by a fielder’s choice and a double play gave Bobcats game four, 10-0. 

Greene threw the complete game shutout for the win and also recorded three hits, along with Zane Kelley and Isaiah Smith. Chuck Hill, Ryan Daggs, and Cadan Kauffman each added a pair of hits, and Caleb Johnson, and Trey Riley each added a hit in the win.

The Bobcats will be back in action next weekend as they host Ecclesia College in the final series of the regular season.