Alva Review-Courier -

BETHANY — Southern Nazarene battled the cold on Saturday afternoon at Feland Field and came out on top 4-3 against Cumberland in the first game of the SNU/OCU Festival.

Temperatures never reached 40 degrees in Bethany, but that didn't stop the Crimson Storm (2-2) from pushing runs across the plate on Saturday. SNU tallied six hits in the cold, and got another great outing from their ace Jefferson Harris. He pitched five complete innings and allowed five hits and two runs, while striking out three batters in the game. Head coach Robert Lee attested after the game that Harris got them out of a couple of tight jams as well.

Tyler Thompson picked up his first win of the season on the mound for the Storm as he provided 1.1 innings of relief and allowed just one hit. The Phoenix (0-2) out-hit SNU by ripping off eight base-knockers, but committed two errors that eventually resulted in a couple of Storm runs.

Sophomore Cole Lee led the way at the plate for the Crimson Storm as he was a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Emilio Escobedo and Tanner Ladon each finished 1-for-3 and both recorded an RBI as well. After walking his first at-bat, Christian Dent knocked a single to finish the day 1-for-1 at the plate as well.

Three of the seven total runs scored in the game occurred in the opening inning as Cumberland wasted no time in getting on the board. The Phoenix took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the inning before Escobedo's single scored Garrett Perez to quickly tie the game 1-1. Later in the inning, Ladon singled through the right side, scoring Lee to give the Storm a 2-1 lead.

Both pitchers settled in after that as the temperatures slowly started to decline as the sun began to die. Cumberland tied the game in the fifth inning with a solo-shot to left field, as it was the first homer Harris has allowed this season. Later in the sixth, the Phoenix re-gained their lead by pushing one run across to take a 3-2 lead.

The Crimson Storm battled back in the bottom of the sixth as Lee's single to left field drove in Jarrett Phillips to tie the game, and Shelby Reese reached on a fielder's and scored Perez to give SNU a 4-3 lead. Thompson needed just three outs on the mound to close the door, and he did exactly that giving the Storm a victory on their home field.

Southern Nazarene will wrap up the SNU/OCU Festival tomorrow with a doubleheader kicking off at 12:30 against Mount Mercy and a 3:00 game with Oklahoma City. Both of those games will be played at Oklahoma City University on artificial turf.