SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Olivet Nazarene University baseball team's 2021-22 season came to an end this afternoon after suffering their second defeat in the NAIA Baseball Opening Rounds to Antelope Valley (Calif.) 4-1. ONU bows out of the Santa Barbara Bracket ending the year with a 38-17 overall record, as Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) regular season and tournament champions, and the longest winning streak in the nation (24 games unbeaten).

The Pioneers scored the first four runs of the ballgame. In the bottom of the first inning, UAV scored two runs off a single to right field. The other two runs came in the fifth inning via a RBI triple followed by a sacrifice fly. Through five innings, Antelope Valley led 4-0.

Gunnar Pullins drove in the sole ONU run for the game in the top of the seventh inning. His dribbler to the shortstop was enough to bring home Jacob Bulthuis from third base. The Tigers could not conjure up a rally in the eighth and ninth innings to extend the game and their season.

Aren Gustafson took the mound for the Tigers for the start. The lefty tacked on three more strikeouts to his career total to end the year with the second most career strikeouts in program history with 268.

GAME VITALS

Antelope Valley (38-12, 21-6 RSC) | Olivet Nazarene (38-17, 27-3 CCAC)

THANK YOU, SENIORS

On behalf of the ONU Athletics Department, we would like to thank the 2022 senior class for all of their hard work and dedication on and off the baseball diamond. This senior class moves on from the program after winning three consecutive CCAC Tournament Championships and NAIA playoff berths.

--ONU—

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