(March 20, 2025) Mena, Arkansas - Coming off a tough loss on Tuesday, the Bucks wanted to get off on the right foot in region play against Redlands Community College. The Bucks entered the day a game over .500 at 14-13, while the Cougars began the day at 19-8 on the season. Every region game is important in the quest toward the Region II Tournament in May in Enid, OK.
The Bucks would start the day with a 6-3 win, before winning a marathon 20-12 over the Cougars to finish the day. In the second game, the Bucks would plate runs in all eight innings.
At the plate, the Bucks hit for a .448 average with 30 hits on the afternoon. The hits produced 26 runs in a pair of games. The men were patient at the plate and walked 15 times and stole 8 bases in the doubleheader. Cody Hayes (Mildred, TX) inches his way closer to the hit-by-pitch career record at UARM with another HBP this afternoon.
The day was led offensively by Dylan Gibson (Springdale, AR) with 6 RBIs, including a big fly that drove in a pair in the second game. Hayes drove in 5 runs on the day, going 3 for 8 at the plate with a pair of doubles. Diego Archila (Baton Rouge, LA) led the men with 6 hits and scored 4 runs, while Ian Smith (Bismarck, AR) had 5 hits and scored 5 runs. Three Bucks drove in 3 runs in the doubleheader: Shelby Anders (Baton Rouge, LA), Jack Bilski (La Porte, TX), and Gage Mullins (McAlester, OK).
On the mound, Ethan Diaz (Minneola, FL) went the distance to kick off the series. It wasn't his best start, but Diaz (3-3) evened his season record in 7.0 innings of work. He gave up 3 runs on 4 hits, while striking out a pair. Camden Farmer (Paragould, AR) came on in relief in the second game and pitched 2.1 innings. Farmer (2-1) gave up 3 runs on 6 hits. He would strike out 1 and walked none in the outing. Tyler Reed (Pampa, TX) pitched the final 3.0 innings in the second game, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits. The staff gave up 15 runs (8 earned) on the day.
The Bucks are now 2-0 in region play with a 16-13 overall record.
The men will now take Friday off before travelling on Saturday to El Reno to conclude the series. The Bucks will be going for their first region series win of the season against Redlands. First pitch will be at 1 pm.
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