Oklahoma Christian posts sweep of Hounds

OKLAHOMA CITY — First baseman Michael DiFiore capped a big day with a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning and Oklahoma Christian rallied past Eastern New Mexico University 6-4 on Friday, completing a sweep of their Lone Star Conference baseball doubleheader.

The Eagles cruised in Game 1, crushing seven home runs in a 27-7 blowout of the Greyhounds. The finale of the three-game series was set for Saturday afternoon.

ENMU (5-15, 5-14 LSC), which has dropped five in a row and seven of eight, had a chance to win the nightcap behind four RBIs from left fielder Nicholas Tamez and solid pitching from starter Josh Lewis.

Trailing 3-0, Tamez hit a two-run double in the fourth and added his second home run of the season, a two-run shot, to put ENMU in front in the fifth.

Lewis, who left after giving up a leadoff single in the eighth, allowed eight hits with just one walk and seven strikeouts. DiFiore greeted reliever Cooper Hamilton (1-2) with his third two-run homer of the day to give the Eagles (10-9, 9-8) a 5-4 advantage.

Another run came home later in the inning on a throwing error.

ENMU stranded 13 runners in the game, including seven in scoring position. The Hounds left two men on in five of the first six innings.

Carlsbad freshman Rio Granger, who hit his first collegiate home run in the opener, led the Hounds’ 10-hit attack in Game 2, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

Oklahoma Christian 27, ENMU 7 (Game 1) — The Eagles, who entered the weekend leading the LSC with 24 home runs, roughed up four Hounds pitchers for 25 hits in the lidlifter — including 13 for extra bases. DeFiore, who went 5-for-8 with five runs scored in the twin bill, hit two-run homers in the first and fourth innings of that one and now has eight round-trippers for the season.

The last of the Eagles’ first-game homers was a fifth-inning grand slam by center fielder Ryan Walden, making it 26-0. Oklahoma Christian scored in all six at-bats, including four frames of at least five runs, in a game shortened to seven by the 10-run rule.

Held to one hit through five innings by Eagles senior left-hander Gabe Rodery (5-0), the Hounds scored seven times over the final two cantos. Granger delivered a pinch-hit, three-run shot in the top of the seventh off Oklahoma Christian reliever Hayden Barber.

Rodery walked five and struck out nine over six innings. He whiffed seven of the first eight hitters he faced.