(May 4, 2022) Mena, Arkansas – After clinching the 2022 Region II Regular Season Championship last week in Enid, the 14th ranked Bucks had one series remaining in the 2022 season, against Murray State College. The Bucks will be the #1 seed in the upcoming Region Tournament next week in Enid, Oklahoma, while Murray State is currently sitting third in the standing. This series could have seeding implications.
GAME ONE
Drake Fontenot (Bossier City, LA) got the start on the bump for the Bucks. He would give up 3 straight hits to start the game that resulted in a pair of runs. He would strand the bases loaded, as the Bucks trailed 2-0 coming to hit for the first time. The Bucks would go down in order, but after holding Murray State in the top of the second, Mason Reynolds (Fort Worth, TX) hit a solo homer over the left field fence to make it 2-1 after two innings.
Fontenot put up a zero in the top of the third. The Bucks had the bases loaded after a double and a pair of walks. Cole Clark (Clarksville, AR), Luke Rice (Scott, AR), and Wesley Featherston all hit RBI singles in the half inning. Chase Webb (El Dorado, AR) reached on an error that plated a run. The Bucks took a 5-2 lead in the inning.
After another zero by Fontenot, Cole Clark belted a 2-out solo homer over the right field fence to extend the lead to 6-2. Murray State added runs on a 2-run homer in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead.
Fontenot's day was done after giving up a lead off double in the top of the sixth. Reliever Cooper Perry (Avinger, TX) entered the game to pitch and got the third out on a strikeout with the bases loaded to keep the score at 6-4 and got the hold. The Bucks stranded them loaded as well to send the game to the top of the seventh.
Daegan Covington (Taylor, AR) came in to pitch and recorded his league leading 6th save of the season to end the game. Bucks win 6-4 in the seven inning contest.
Drake Fontenot (7-2) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits. The right hander struck out 2 and walked 3 in the outing. Cooper Perry worked an inning, recording 3 strikeouts. Daegan Covington struck out a lone hitter in the save.
GAME TWO
Grant Shankle (Van Buren, AR) started in his usual spot in game two. He would throw a couple scoreless innings before the Bucks produced some runs. The first on a Casey Shipley (Prairie Grove, AR) RBI single to right field. After a double and an out, Chase Webb once again reached on an error that plated a run to make it 2-0 after two innings.
Murray State added 2 runs on a home run in the top of the third to tie the game. After the Bucks went scoreless, Murray State added a run in the top of the fourth before Shankle was chased from the game with 2 outs. Randy Little Jr. (Pine Bluff, AR) entered the game in relief and got out of the inning, trailing 3-2.
Little continued through the fifth and sixth innings, putting up zeros. The Bucks tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. After an error and a walk, Brayden Sites (Sheridan, AR) hit a RBI single to right field to score a run with 1 out that tied it at 3-3.
Murray State took the lead on a solo home run in the top of the eighth off Little. In the bottom half, Chase Webb hit a RBI single with the bases loaded with 1 out to tie the game at 4-4. Little put up a zero in the top of the ninth to send the game to the bottom half with the Bucks having a chance to win it, but the Bucks went in order to send the game into extra innings.
Little returned and put down the Aggies in order to give the Bucks another chance in the bottom of the tenth. The Bucks would win it in the bottom of the tenth. Will Dolan (Sugarland, TX) stole second and then third on back-to-back pitches. The throw to third went into center field and allowed Dolan to score for the Bucks to win 5-4 in ten innings.
Randy Little Jr. (4-1) got the win in relief, 6.1 innings. He would give up a run on 4 hits, while striking out 4 and walked a lone hitter. Starter Grant Shankle lasted 3.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. He struck out and walked a pair.
#GOBUCKS