Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Baseball put together one of the biggest roller coaster rides of the season in a game that began on Thursday evening and ended on Friday morning. Orlando Olivera hit two, game-tying home runs, one on Thursday, one on Friday, but it was not enough. Oklahoma City plated the game-winner in the top of the 10th to send the Spartans home in an 8-7 extra-inning loss.
Missouri Baptist (43-13) fell behind the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City Stars in the first inning, but found ways to continue to come back time and time again.
After trailing by one after one inning, Missouri Baptist broke through in the fourth. The Spartans posted their first hits in the game as Eli Roundtree led-off with a single, the first hit for MBU in the game. Consecutive hits by Austyn Nagamine and Brian Poupore scored Roundtree, and the Spartans had tied the game at one.
MBU tied the game again in the fifth and sixth. Orlando Olivera hit his first home run of the game, this one of the solo variety in the fifth inning, and made it a 2-2 game. After the Stars regained the lead in the top of the sixth with three runs, MBU's Poupore crossed the plate thanks to an error by the Stars. With another tie ballgame, OCU went back to work. Oklahoma City posted three unearned runs in the sixth and took full advantage of a wild throw by Aaron Pangilinan on a bunt.
The Spartans answered back in the bottom of the inning. MBU posted two runs on an Oklahoma City fielding error, in an attempt to handle a bunt by Aaron Collazo, and cut the deficit to 6-5.
Both teams went blow for blow until another three-run lead by Oklahoma City, late in the game, began to look insurmountable. That was, of course, until the eighth inning.
With one out and two on, Orlando Olivera came back to the plate in the biggest spot of the season. As can be expected from the star outfielder, he delivered yet again. The left fielder drilled a 2-1 pitch 400 feet to left center and tied the game on his 20th home run of the season.
The game entered the 10th inning with a tie ball game at seven. As the Spartans brought Marcus Crescentini on for his second inning of work, he seemed poised to get out of the inning yet again. He struck-out the first four batters he faced in the game, but was unable to get the final out of the 10th before the Stars struck.
OCU leadoff man Reggie Wilson came to the plate with two outs and delivered a crushing double to left on a check swing that happened to get down along the left-field line. Joe Lytle followed with the game-winning RBI single before Crescentini got Connor Lynch to pop out to end the inning.
Holden Lyons held the lead in the bottom of the 10th and was the winner as the Stars escaped with the victory and kept their World Series hopes alive.
In addition to Olivera, Eli Roundtree was especially good in the final game. The Spartan right fielder went 3-6 with a run scored in his last game in a Missouri Baptist uniform.
Austyn Nagamine went 2-4 in the game and delivered several key hits.
The loss ended the Spartans season for the second consecutive season at the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
