SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team completed the three-game sweep of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference series matchup against the Titans of IU-South Bend winning 9-5 Saturday afternoon. Kai Hudson led the way for the Tigers as he went three for five at the plate, including a double in the eighth inning, and batting in three runs for the contest.

The Tigers pounced on the Titans early scoring three runs in the first inning. Nolan Louis' RBI single got the Purple and Gold going with Tyler Wheeler and Jacob Bulthuis following up with bases-clearing doubles. Alex Ortiz drove in Hudson in the bottom of the third inning to increase the lead to 4-0.

IU-SB stormed back into the ballgame as they scored five unanswered runs to take their first lead of the day. Evan Allen initially cut the ONU advantage to just one run with one swing clearing the outfield wall for a three-run home run. South Bend continued the momentum into the top of the sixth inning manufacturing two additional runs to overtake Olivet 5-4.

ONU did not trail for long as Hudson and Bulthuis both hit RBI singles in the bottom half of the sixth inning to regain the lead. It remained a one-run ballgame until the eighth inning when the shortstop from St. Petersburg, Fla. found a gap in left field with two men on base recording his second and third RBIs of the afternoon. Jonathan Simpson came out of the bullpen in the fifth inning and finished the game to take claim his first win of the season.    

QUICK HITS

• Tigers have now won 10 in a row dating back to March 20 against St. Francis (Ill.)
• IU-SB avoided Tyler Wheeler after his RBI double in the first inning walking him for a season-high four times.
• Kai Hudson and Jacob Bulthuis tallied season-highs in RBIs for a single game with 3 each.
• Ryan Russmann registered 4 putouts, 5 assists, and no errors in the field.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers begin a three-game series next week with the Lakers of Roosevelt. Starting on Tuesday, April 5, ONU and RU will have a doubleheader at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, Ill. with the season finale on Wednesday hosted at Watson Field in Bourbonnais, Ill. The away games on Tuesday are scheduled for 5 p.m. CST and 8 p.m. CST with the final game slated for 3 p.m. CST. Please visit ONUTigers.com to follow all the action where you can find live stats and video links.

--ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu