It’s only fitting that the Ouachita and Henderson State baseball teams get to close the season facing off against each other in the 2013 edition of the Southern Bancorp Battle of the Ravine Series. In game one of the three game series, the Tigers fell to the Reddies by a score of 3-2, due to a run scored by HSU in the top of the ninth inning.
The Tigers got the offense rolling early in the game, as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the visiting Reddies.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the first inning before the Reddies recorded an out, and Chris Tavares helped score the first run of the game by wearing a pitch on the arm and moving the runners around. The other RBI in the inning came from Will Wallace.
Wallace grounded into a double play, but not before allowing Duncan Collins to advance home and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead after an inning of play.
Henderson tied up the game in the top of the fifth inning, when they capitalized on an error by the Tigers earlier in the inning. Henderson hit a ball to shallow right field, allowing a pair of runners to score, although neither was earned.
Both teams had a number of opportunities over the course of the next few innings, including a one-out, bases loaded situation in the eighth for the Tigers, but neither was able to score a runner until the top of the ninth, when Henderson scored a runner on a single to left field
Henderson’s run in the ninth put the Tigers in a tight spot, as they trailed going into the bottom half of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers just couldn’t answer, as a pair of strikeouts and a fly-out to centerfield resulted in a loss.
Davis Ward, who threw a complete game and recorded five strikeouts while only giving up a single earned run, took the loss for Ouachita, dropping him to 9-3 on the year.
The Tigers and Reddies return to action on Sunday, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. Ouachita will have senior day ceremonies preceding the first game of the afternoon to honor the six graduating seniors from this year’s squad.
