CLEVELAND, Miss.- A dominating pitching performance by starter Beau Martin, coupled with an opportunistic approach at the plate early on gave Ouachita Baptist the series win, beating No. 21 Delta State, 4-0, in Game 3 to take a 2-1 Gulf South Conference Baseball series win.
Ouachita (14-9, 2-1 GSC West) scored a pair of runs in the first inning after a single from freshman Landon Flax, followed by an RBI groundout from sophomore Brock Green and RBI single from senior Luke Hardcastle to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
After both teams were held scoreless in the second, senior Will Gowdy blasted his fifth home run of the season, giving Ouachita a 3-0 lead in the third.
Martin was flawless from there, going eight innings and allowing just three hits from No. 21 Delta State (14-7, 1-2 GSC West). The Tigers also scored a solo run in the fourth via a double from junior Mark Cain, scoring on an RBI from junior Steve Mirizzi to set the final score at 4-0.
Gowdy led the Tigers at the plate, finishing at 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI from the solo home run. While Gowdy was the only Tiger with multiple base hits, Ouachita collected eight total, including a 1-for-2 performance from Hardcastle who recorded an RBI, while Green finished at 1-for-3 with a RBI, as well.
Griffin (2-2) took the loss for the Statesman, going 7.1 innings while allowing three earned runs on seven hits. Gordon finished with two of the three total hits for Delta State.
Ouachita Baptist returns to Rab Rodgers Field in Arkadelphia on Wednesday, March 17 to take on Valdosta State in a GSC Crossover doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
