(April 11, 2023) Mena, Arkansas - Coming off a split on Saturday with Murray State, the Bucks looked to be playing better baseball as of late. The men wanted to keep the momentum going with their mid-week game against Eastern Oklahoma State this afternoon at Union Bank Field. The Bucks will play their 4-game series this coming weekend at Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, Oklahoma. 

The Bucks took their only lead of the game in the bottom of the second inning. Trevor Flake (North Little Rock, AR) hit a RBI single to kick off the scoring in the inning, and Brayden Sites (Sheridan, AR) walked in a run to make it 2-1 after two inning. In the top of the third, a walk and a hit-by-pitch led to the Mountaineers scoring 6 runs in the frame to claim a 7-2 lead that turned into a 10-2 after five innings.

The Mountaineers added a run in the top of the sixth before the Bucks started scratching away at the lead with a 2-run bottom of the sixth, a 3-run bottom of the seventh, and plated another run in the bottom of the eighth. Cooper White (Benton, AR) hit a 2-run home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, Blaine Vaughan (Grandview, TX) and Ethan Perry (Benton, AR) hit RBI singles before White recorded a sac fly to make the score 11-7 after seven innings. 

The Bucks plated another in the bottom of the eighth on a Brett Justice (Jacksonville, AR) sac fly, but the Mountaineers added a run in the top of the ninth to make the final score of 12-8.

The men couldn't overcome the big third inning by the Mountaineers, but the Bucks could not overcome 11 walks, 3 hit-by-pitches, and stranding 14 base runners on the afternoon. They did produce 8 runs on 14 hits in the 9-inning contest. The Bucks and Mountaineers will play one more time this season in Wilburton.

The 4-game series with Western begins on Friday 1 pm in Altus, Oklahoma. The series concludes at 12 pm on Saturday.

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