ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - Drury's baseball Panthers had the proverbial "big one that got away" on Saturday afternoon, blowing a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh and final inning to fall 12-10 to No. 5 Ouachita Baptist and complete a doubleheader sweep by the Tigers here at Rab Rodgers Field.
The Panthers (2-4) took a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth in the second game, only to watch OBU (8-2) - last year's D-II World Series runner-up - rally with seven runs in the frame to tie it at 7.
Drury went on top 10-7, however, in the sixth on a two-run double from Tyler Goss and an RBI double by Harrison Waters. The Panthers surrendered a run in the bottom of the frame, but still held a 10-8 advantage going to the decisive seventh when things quickly took a turn for the worse.
A single, fielder's choice and throwing error on Goss loaded the bases, and the Tigers quickly tied it on an RBI groundout by JoeDan Poulter and an RBI single to left by Will Gowdy, both off DU right-hander Steven Bloss (0-1).
Carl Teghtmyer relieved Bloss with the game tied at 10, got Rudy Jovanovski - who was 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIS coming into the at-bat - to foul out for the second out, but was touched for a two-run, walk-off homer by freshman pinch-hitter Brock Green for the OBU victory.
Drury matched the Tigers with 12 hits, but was hurt by six walks and two hit batsmen. Starter Blake Wixson allowed just one hit through three innings, but was touched for seven runs on six hits in the fourth as the Panthers let the 7-0 advantage slip away. DU grabbed the big lead on a two-run throwing error, an RBI double from R.J. Knese and a two-run single by Joe Rohlfing.
Rohlfing went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Panthers in game two, while Kendall Findley, Goss and Waters had two hits each. Goss, Knese and Bret Gallion drove in two apiece for DU.
In the opener, Drury fell behind 6-0 after two innings as Panthers' senior right-hander Zane Montgomery surrendered eight runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings pitched.
The Panthers cut it to 6-2 in the fourth on a two-run homer by Rohlfing, but the Tigers answered with a run in the fourth and four in the fifth to lead 11-2 and won going away.
Rohlfing went 2-for-4 with the homer and three RBIs, and DU junior reliever Beau Beattie pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief to highlight the Panthers' efforts in game one, as Drury managed just five hits off two OBU pitchers.
For the day, Rohlfing went 5-for-7 with six RBIs and scored a pair of runs. He's now hitting .476 (10 for 21) with a homer and nine runs batted in, and has nine hits in his last 14 at-bats.
The Panthers will play OBU in a single nine-inning game starting at 1 p.m. Sunday in Arkadelphia.
Game One box
Game Two box