TEMPE, Ariz. – Eastern Oregon Baseball split its final day of action at the Coach Calderone Invite playing a pair of high scoring contests. The Mountaineers defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State, 16-12, in game one before dropping a 16-11 match-up against No. 23 Benedictine Mesa.

Game 1 – Eastern Oregon 16, Oklahoma Panhandle State 12
How it Happened
• Both teams hit the ball well, combining for 32 hits. Eastern (2-2) had the edge at 19-13, but the Aggies (1-3) made just three errors compared to four by the Mounties.
• Fueling what was a comeback win for EOU was a six-run outing in the fourth inning and a five-run surge in the eighth.
• The Mounties grabbed the game's first lead with two runs in the opening frame. Brooks Dyer scored Austin Gerding on an RBI groundout, while a Jamie Powell double scored Matt Garcia.
• The Aggies answered with two runs in the top of the second to tie the contest 2-2. They held EOU scoreless and then went ahead 5-2 with three runs in the top of the third.
• Eastern got one run back in the bottom of the third with Garcia plating home Dyer on an RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-3. The Mountaineers then exploded for six runs in the fourth to lead 9-5.
• EOU tied the game in the fourth on a Gerding three-RBI triple to clear the bases. Dyer then immediately scored Gerding with a single to left and the Mounties led 6-5.
• The Aggies gave up run No. 7 of the game on a balk to bring in Kyler Lunny. EOU loaded the bases after the balk and a Dononvan Gonzalez two RBI double to left field gave the team a four-run lead.
• EOU was held scoreless over the next two innings, while Panhandle State scored seven runs to make it a 12-9 contest going into the seventh inning. The Aggies surrendered just two hits to the Mounties in that span.
• The Mounties responded in the bottom of the seventh scoring two runs to get within one. Defensively, they held the Aggies scoreless over the final three innings as well.
• The first run for the Mounties came on a wild pitch as Roa scored after being walked. Dyer scored the second run on a Garcia RBI single to third base. Going into the eighth, EOU trailed by just one, 12-11.
• In the eighth, the final five runs for EOU came on five hits and each run was earned. Dane Kelsey tied the game, 12-all, with an RBI extra base hit to left and scored Garrett Kollar.
• On the next at bat, McKlane Elgin knocked a deep triple to center field to put EOU ahead 13-12. After Elgin's triple, the Aggies walked the next two batters to load the bases.
• Garcia brought in two runners in Gerding and Elgin to extend the Mounties lead to 15-12 on a two RBI single to center. Ethan Snodgrass brought in the final run with an RBI single to score Dyer.
• Leading 16-12 going into the ninth, the Mountaineers went to Bennett King to close out the game. King worked a 1-2-3 outing with a fly out, a groundout, and a strikeout to give EOU win no. 2 of the season.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Matt Garcia had a solid performance going 3-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
• Brooks Dyer also hit 3-4 with four runs scored and had two RBIs.
• Austin Gerding scored three runs and finished 2-5 at the plate to go along with two RBIs.
• Garrett Kollar had three hits in five at bats and scored two runs.
• Donovan Gonzalez finished 2-5 in the win and had two RBIs.
• Davis Brown (1-0) picked up the win in a relief effort. He pitched three complete and had a strikeout.

For the Aggies
• Lane Field led the bats going 3-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
• Manrique Mora and Sam Bond both went 2-3 with two runs scored and one RBI, respectively.
• Luis Dermas hit 2-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
• Tate Nebhut (0-1) suffered the loss, pitching 3.1 innings. He had a game-high four strikeouts.

Game 2 – No. 23 Benedictine Mesa 16, Eastern Oregon 11
How it Happened
• The Mountaineers managed to keep their strong hitting going into game two, tallying 10 hits against the 23rd-ranked Redhawks (3-3).
• Mesa managed to outhit Eastern, 17-10, which helped them secure the five-run win at home. Defensive play fell in the Mountaineers favor however as they had one error compared to three by Mesa.
• The Redhawks grabbed the game's first lead with three runs scored in the bottom of the first. A two run homer made it 2-0 to start, before a two-out RBI single plated home the third run to make it 3-0.
• The score remained at 3-0 until the third inning when EOU tacked on three runs to tie the game. McKlane Elgin hit a leadoff single and was immediately brought in on a deep RBI single to right field from Austin Gerding.
• Elliott Marks tied the game with a two-RBI single to center. He plated home Gerding and Brooks Dyer who got on base thanks to a Redhawks error.
• The bottom of the third saw the Redhawks respond and scored six runs on six hits to take a 9-3 lead. Following a leadoff hit, Mesa scored two runs on back-to-back RBI singles to go ahead 5-3.
• The lead grew to 6-3 for the Redhawks with an RBI double to right center. Following a pitching change by the Mountaineers, Mesa then knocked a three-RBI double to deep right field to go ahead by six, 9-3.
• The Mounties were held scoreless in the fourth inning and a three-run outing by the Redhawks put them ahead 12-3 going into the fifth.
• The first two runs for Mesa came on the third at-bat as leadoff single and a walk got runners on to start. A two-RBI triple to right field put the Redhawks ahead 11-3.
• The next batter then knocked a sacrifice fly to score the lone runner on base to give the Redhawks a nine-run edge.
• Neither team scored in the fifth to keep the score at 12-3. The Mountaineers made things interesting in the sixth scoring seven runs, while the Redhawks tacked on four.
• The Mounties first two runs came thanks to back-to-back  bases loaded walks by Mesa. Dane Kelsey and Dyer scored, respectively.
• Run No. 3 for Eastern was on a hit by pitch. Donovan Gonzalez took the hit which then allowed Matt Garcia to come home and brought the score to 12-8.
• With the bases still loaded, the Redhawks got a second out, but immediately hit the next batter to give up a run. Payton Hamilton took the hit, allowing Marks to score and get the Mounties within three, 12-9.
• The lone hit for Eastern in the sixth came when Elgin singled to the pitcher for the RBI. Scoring on the run was Garrett Kollar as EOU trailed by just two, 12-10.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Mesa managed to load the bases as EOU hit two batters and allowed a walk. A bases loaded walk by EOU allowed a run to come in and pushed the Redhawks lead to 13-10.
• Eastern managed to get back-to-back outs before a two-RBI single to left field extended the lead to 15-10 for Mesa. They added their final run on the next at bat with an RBI single to right.
• The final run of the evening for the Mountaineers came in the eighth inning. Rogelio Gonzales was hit by pitch on the leadoff at bat and was scored on an Elgin RBI double to center field.
• The Mountaineers looked to rally in the ninth as they got one runner on from a Mesa error. The comeback effort was stalled though as the Redhawks held on for the five-run victory.

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Elliott Marks was 2-5 with a team-high three RBIs and scored one run.
• McKlane Elgin had a game-high four hits in five at bats. He had two RBIs and scored one run.
• Austin Gerding and Brooks Dyer led the way in runs scored with two, respectively.
• Jeter Larson (0-1) suffered the loss. He fanned one batter in 2.2 innings pitched.
• Reliever Zac Rackham had a team-high two strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.

For the Redhawks
• Kevin Fitzgerald led the bats with a game-high four RBIs on 2-4 hitting and scored one run.
• Christian Carlos racked up three RBIs and had a game best four hits in five at bats. 
• Brock Johnson finished 3-4 at the plate with two RBIs and tw runs scored.
• Evan Appenzeller (1-0) picked up the win on the mound. He pitched five complete and struck out a game-high five batters.

By the Numbers
27 - The Mountaineers tallied 27 total runs in Saturday's two games.
16 - EOU's 16 runs against the Aggies tie for the most in a single game since the program's reinstatement.
16 - The Mountaineers' 16 runs are also the most in a win since the program was brought back.
11 - Eastern scored 11 runs on a ranked, which is second most in program history since reinstatement.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers will be back in action this weekend for a three-game series at NCAA Division III Linfield University, Feb. 4-6. Game one will be played at 2 p.m., with the next two starting at 1 p.m. each day.

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