(May 1, 2021) Poteau, Oklahoma – Coming off a split yesterday at Union Bank Field, the Bucks made the one-hour trip to conclude the region series with the Vikings.

Game 1

The Bucks struck first to lead off the game. Cole Clark (Clarksville, AR) reached on a 1 out single. Two hitters later, Luke Rice (Scott, AR) walked before Dan Taylor (Rogers, AR) singled on a ground ball to centerfield to score Clark to take the 1-0 lead. Randy Little Jr. (Pine Bluff, AR) got the start on the mound and stranded a runner in the bottom half.

In the 2^nd, the Bucks stranded a runner before the Vikings took a 2-1 lead. The third and fourth innings were scoreless before Carl Albert had a 4-run 5^th inning. Little was chased from the game and responsible for all runs. Cooper Perry (Avinger, TX) came in a gave up a hit, but recorded all 3 outs of the inning.

The Bucks only got one base runner in the final innings and fell 6-1 in the game. Randy Little Jr. (3-2) pitched 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits and recorded 4 strikeouts. Cooper Perry and Carson Crawford (Humnoke, AR) both pitched an inning apiece.

Game 2

Both teams went scoreless in the opening frame of the game. James McCormick (Benton, AR) got the start for the Bucks. The Vikings took the lead with 2 runs in the 2^nd and 3 more runs in the 3^rd inning.

The Bucks trailed 5-0 going into the 4^th inning before plating a couple runs of their own. Wesley Featherston (Hope, AR) and Luke Rice hit back-to-back singles before both advanced on a pass ball. Dan Taylor hit a sac fly to centerfield to score Featherston. Next at-bat, Daegan Covington (Taylor, AR) hit a single to score Rice to cut into the Viking lead, 5-2.

Keelan Hodge (Junction City, AR) came on in relief after McCormick gave up a lead off triple. Hodge would give up a 2-out walk, but he got out of the inning unscathed on a ground ball. The Bucks cut the lead to 1 in the top of the 5^th.

Mason Reynolds (Fort Worth, TX) reached on an error before Cole Clark doubled to put runners on 2^nd and 3^rd. Reynolds would score on a pass ball before Featherston grounded out to plate Clark. Trailing 5-4, Hodge gave up a single in the bottom half, but he put down the next 3 batters to hold the Vikings scoreless.

After a scoreless 6^th for the Bucks, the Vikings added a run to take a 6-4 lead. Drake Fontenot (Bossier City, LA) entered the game for the Bucks on the mound to finish the innings and pitched a scoreless 7^th and 8^th innings.

Unfortunately, the Bucks were unable to produce any runs and would drop the series to the Vikings.

#GOBUCKS