Baseball Splits Rain-Shortened Series with Ok State

Game one was basically a microcosm of this season for the Bears. Dillon Newman looked great through the first five innings, but the offense could put anyone across. In the sixth inning, things came apart when Zach Fish, Ok State's cleanup hitter and major power threat, smashed a three run homer. The Cowboys tacked on two more runs in the seventh, but they didn't really need to. One would have been enough. The Bears offense had seven hits on the afternoon (6 singles and 1 double) but couldn't string them together to create runs.

Game two was an interesting and sloppy affair. The teams combined for 6 errors and 4 unearned runs in route to a 12 inning Bears' victory. Logan Brown was the hero in this one with his game-winning double. Brown has really blossomed in his sophomore season as his .318/.378/.412 line with 11 stolen bases attests. Add in his nice center field defense and he'll be a leader for this team for the next several years.

Sadly, and I know I'm beating this dead horse too much, Nathan Orf is the only other player producing at a high level for the Bears. Cal Towey's power has yet to really show up. Duncan Wendel has a decent batting average, but he only has one extra base hit - a double. Adam Toth, Mitch Price, and Lawton Langford have struggled over the last couple weeks.

At this point, the Bears are asking a little to much of their pitchers. They managed a win on Saturday because Max Garner gave yet another solid start and the bullpen of Smith, Michaelec, and Bare were absolutely lights out. For this team to make a run at the post-season, the pitching staff is going to have to dominate. The offense will simply not give them enough runs on a game-to-game basis.

This week, the Bears face UTSA before Kansas State comes down for the weekend. A 1-1 series on the road is actually not a bad way to kick off conference play, so let's hope the Bears can build on that at home this coming weekend. Sic 'em and Feed the Beaver.