OKLAHOMA CITY – The Friends University Falcons opened the 2025 season on as positive of a note as possible, sweeping the No. 23-ranked Oklahoma City University Stars today (Jan. 25) by scores of 5-2 & 10-7 in Oklahoma City.
The Falcons won in two different fashions, first rallying late in the opener when an RBI double by Isaias Urriola scored Bernie Socarras to snap a 2-2 tie.
Carlos Rodriguez then provided emphatic insurance with a two-run homer in the ninth inning.
Friends had found itself in an early 2-0 deficit when OCU plated two runs in the first inning. Zeke Henson then singled in Miles Hartman to put the Falcons on the board in the third.
Keagan Alejo started and went five innings with two runs allowed before Gonzolo Armas came on and blanked the Stars over the final four frames to get the win.
Henson had two hits in the opening tilt for the Falcons and Barrett Daniel went 2-of-4 for the Stars.
The Falcons then blitzed the Stars early in the nightcap, scoring a run in the first before exploding for six runs in the second and three more in the third for a 10-0 lead.
Hartman singled in the first run of the big second frame and then hit another RBI single to score Tyler Godfrey in the fourth for the Falcons' 10th run.
But the Falcons had to hang on as a solo home run by Jack Johnson started a run of seven unanswered tallies for the Stars.
The Falcons though stabilized things behind the relief trio of Matthew Benton, Chance Baker and Preston Lewis over the final three innings.
"Proud of the guys, really tough place to play, let alone win," said Friends baseball head coach Adam Neisius. "Given we've been indoors pretty much since we started practice, I thought the guys competed very well. Had some hiccups on the mound that we'll need to correct, but our starting pitching has been solid and Gonzolo was lights out. Offensively we did some good things, hopefully we'll be better next weekend."
Francisco Moscoso, the 2024 KCAC Pitcher of the Year, went four innings and allowed two runs with five strikeouts to pick up the Falcons' second victory of the day.
Rodriguez again paced the Falcon offense in the second game with three hits and a pair of RBIs from the top spot in the order. Hartman, in his first career series at Friends, went 4-of-4 with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Melwin Perez also had two hits and two RBIs for the Falcons (2-0).
Aiden Van Rensum had two hits for the Stars (0-2).
The Falcons will next play a four-game series at Texas A&M-Texarkana starting Friday (Jan. 31) at noon in Texarkana, Texas.
