(March 13, 2022) Tonkawa, Oklahoma – Coming off winning both games of the doubleheader at home on Thursday, the Bucks looked for their first Region II series win of the season. The Bucks woke up early and made the 5-hour drive to Northern Oklahoma to finish the series with the Mavericks Sunday afternoon.
GAME ONE
Jackson Wells (Rogers, AR) got the start on the bump for the Bucks in the 7-inning contest and looked to continue the recent success of the Bucks pitching staff.
Neither team produced a run in the first inning before the Bucks broke open the scoring with 3 runs in the top of the second inning. With 2 runners on and 2 outs, Jackson Baker (Sherwood, AR) picked up 2 RBIs on a line drive to left field. He would then score in the next at-bat on a Daniel Taylor (Rogers, AR) line drive to right field to make it 3-0 in favor of the Bucks.
In the top of the next inning, the Bucks would once again produce 3 runs. With 1 out, Luke Rice (Scott, AR) finally tallied his first home run of the season. After a walk, Brayden Sites (Sheridan, AR) would hit a RBI triple to extend the Bucks lead. A walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Jackson Baker, and he would ground out to plate another run to make it 6-0 in the third. Wells continued to deal in the bottom half to bring the Bucks back to the plate in the fourth. Chase Webb (El Dorado, AR) hit a solo home run to extend the lead, but the Mavericks plated a run in the bottom half to make it 7-1. Then, the Mavericks plated another run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-2.
In the top of the sixth and 2 outs, a Chase Webb double led to Luke Rice picking up another RBI on a ground ball. The Mavericks would match the run with one of their own in the bottom half to make it 8-3 after sixth innings. The Bucks would look to close the game out in the seventh and plated an insurance run that made it 9-3. Wells was able to go the distanced and seal the Bucks 9-3 win.
Jackson Wells (2-0) pitched a complete game. He would give up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits, while striking out 8 and walking a lone hitter in the contest.
GAME TWO
By winning the previous game, the Bucks picked up the series win; however, the Bucks wanted the sweep to start region play and made a statement in the top of the first inning, scoring 10 runs. The Bucks loaded the bases with no outs for Luke Rice, and he would double to center field to plate the first 2 runs of the contest. With 1 out and two hitters later, Brayden Sites grounded out to plate another run before Wesley Featherston (Hope, AR) took the Mavericks deep to left field to make it 5-0. The Bucks weren't done in the inning. After back-to-back walks, Daniel Taylor hit a 2 RBI single before advancing to second base on a passed ball. Next at-bat, Mason Reynolds (Fort Worth, TX) picked up a RBI single. Chase Webb wasn't done hitting the long ball on the day and hit a 2-run homer to make it 10-0 after the half inning. It was Webb's fifth home run of the season.
Randy Little Jr. (Pine Bluff, AR) finally got the take the mound after the 10-run top half of the inning. He would put up zeros on the scoreboard in his 4.0 innings of work. After a scoreless second inning, the Bucks added a run in the third off the bat of Daniel Taylor. Taylor homered over the left field fence to make it 11-0. In the next inning, Cole Clark (Clarksville, AR) hit a RBI single before the Bucks loaded the bases for Eli Garrison (Little Rock, AR). Garrison hit a sac fly to left field to make it 13-0 after four innings. With Little's day being done, reliever Keelan Hodge (Junction City, AR) came on to pitch the fourth and fifth innings.
The Bucks weren't done offensively on the day, plating 2 more runs in the top of the fifth after some lineup changes. With 2 outs and a runner on, Luke Rice homered to right field to make it 15-0 before adding 3 more runs in the top of the sixth. With 1 out, Jackson Baker picked up a sac fly to center field to score a run. With 2 outs and 2 runners on, Andrew Almendarez (Tomball, TX) doubled to left field to plate both base runners to make it 18-0. The Mavericks did score 2 runs off Hodge in the bottom of the sixth before Daegan Covington (Taylor, AR) came on to close out the game in the final inning. The Bucks picked up the 18-2 win in 7-innings that gave them the sweep to start Region II play.
Randy Little Jr. (2-1) picked up his second win of the season during his four innings of work.
The Bucks are hosting Arkansas Tech on Tuesday for a JV doubleheader. First pitch is schedule at 1 pm.
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