(April 15, 2021) Mena, Arkansas – Coming off a series split with NOC-Tonkawa and a win against Oklahoma Wesleyan's JV Team, the Bucks looked to break the 3-way tie for 2nd place in the region against NOC-Enid. The Bucks, Jets, and Carl Albert all share a 7-5 record in Region play entering the weekend.
Game 1
Maddox Long (Morrilton, AR) got the start on the bump for the Bucks. In the top half of the 1st, he would give up a solo homer to right centerfield. Enid had the 1-0 lead, but it was short lived. Cole Clark (Clarksville, AR) reached on a 1 out walk before Daegan Covington (Taylor, AR) and Luke Rice (Scott, AR) singled to load the bases for Dan Taylor (Rogers, AR). Taylor hit a 2-RBI single to right field to give the Bucks the lead. Still 1 out, Rylee Huie (Pottsville, AR) doubled to centerfield to score Rice. Taylor was thrown out trying to advance to home. Next at-bat, Randy Little Jr. (Pine Bluff, AR) would hit a 2-run bomb to left center to give the Bucks at 5-1 lead after an inning.
Long settled in the 2nd inning and put the Jets down in order and held them scoreless again in the 3rd. The Bucks went in order in the 2nd but added to their lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Covington singled before Rice doubled. Taylor loaded the bases on a hit-by-pitch to setup Rylee Huie. Rylee would single to center to plate Covington. Randy Little Jr. picked up his 3rd RBI of the day on a ground out to 2nd bases, scoring Rice to make it a 7-1 lead after 3.
Maddox did short work again in the top of the 4th with 3 consecutive ground outs. The Bucks picked up another run in the bottom half. Mason Reynolds (Fort Worth, TX) singled to lead off the inning. He advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch before advancing to 3rd on a fly out foul. Daegan Covington would plate Reynolds on a sac fly to centerfield. Bucks lead 8-1 after 4.
With 2 outs in the top of the 5th, Long gave up a walk and made an error on a pick off that setup a RBI single for the Jets. The next hitter would double to score another run, but Maddox would get a strikeout to end the threat. The Bucks did get a run back in the bottom half. Dan Taylor led off with a double. With 1 out, Taylor stole 3rd before Randy Little Jr. picked up his 4th RBI on a double to left field to make it 9-3.
In the final 2 innings, Long picked up 3 strikeouts, including one that ended the game. Bucks win 9-3.
Picking up the win, Maddox Long (5-2) pitched a complete game (7 innings), giving up 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 8 and only walking a pair.
Game 2
Grant Shankle (Van Buren, AR) got the start on the bump in game 2. He would get out of a bases loaded jam with consecutive strikeouts and fly out to end the top of the 1st. The Bucks went scoreless in the bottom half, and Shankle put up another zero in the top of the 2nd. The Bucks picked up a run in the bottom of the 2nd. Luke Rice led off with a double before advancing to 3rd on a ground out. Eli Garrison (North Little Rock, AR) plated Rice on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Bucks lead 1-0 after 2 innings.
The Jets took the lead in the top of the 3rd and picked up 2 runs off Shankle before Keelan Hodge (Junction City, AR) came in on relief to record the last 2 outs of the top half. The Bucks responded with a 5-run bottom half. With 1 out, Cole Clark singled on a ground ball before advancing to 2nd on a ground out. With 2 outs, Luke Rice walked before Dan Taylor singled to plate Clark. Taylor would steal 2nd and caused an overthrow to plate Rice. Eli Garrison would single to score Taylor. After a Randy Little Jr. single, Isaac Price (Siloam Springs, AR) singled to score Garrison. Bucks lead 6-2 after 3 innings.
Enid would add 2 runs in both the 4th and 5th innings to tie the game at 6-6. Keelan Hodge would pitch through the 7th inning and held the Jets scoreless in the 6th and 7th. Coming on to pitch in the 8th, Drake Fontenot (Bossier City, LA) put up a zero on the scoreboard in the 8th and 9th innings to give the Bucks the chance to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. Game is tied at 6-6.
In the top of the 10th, Fontenot stranded runners at the corners with a strikeout and a flyout to end the top half. In the bottom half, Dan Taylor singled with 1 out to bring Eli Garrison to the plate. With Taylor in motion, Eli would hit a line drive to the right center gap as the Bucks win it in walk off fashion, 7-6 in 10 innings.
Picking up the win, Drake Fontenot (1-1) threw 3 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts.
The win puts the Bucks at 21-15 on the season and 9-5 in region play.
The Bucks travel to Enid on Sunday to conclude their week series.
#GOBUCKS