By Jared L’Attore, Contributing Writer  (Courtesy Photo/Bison Athletics)

With the season coming to an end, the Bison will be playoff-bound if they can get into the top eight spots in the Great American Conference (GAC).

Now, the Bison are fifth in their conference. They have a 17-10 conference record, and a 25-15 overall record. The Bison also have a .500-win percentage at home and on the road.

As of now, they are three wins above the eighth seed. They have three games left, with one series remaining. With the Bison winning their last five of seven games, they are showing why they can make a statement come postseason time.

This will be the first year that the Bison will be eligible for play in the postseason in the GAC.

They will face Southern Nazarene University for a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday. Saturday will be an emotional day on Bison Hill for Senior Day.

This will be a day to celebrate the senior players for their efforts on the field throughout their college career.

Last Tuesday, East Central came into town to take on the Bison. The Bison made a statement in this game.

The hit party began in the second inning, with homers by juniors Jake Gozzo and PJ Harris, and senior Zane Gelphman.

Senior Juan Gonzalez contributed with an RBI single hit that brought in two.

The score was 8-0 at the end of the second inning. Gozzo and Harris kept the hit party going with an RBI triple by Gozzo, and an RBI single by Harris.

Senior Brett Berghammer contributed with a single that brought in two. Gelphman flied out but scored in a run.

The final score in that game was 13-1 in favor of the Bison.

Last Friday, the Bison traveled to Durant to take on Southeastern Oklahoma University. The Bison started out strong in the second inning with a fly out from senior Matt Poulin that led to a run. While the Bison struck first, Southeastern Oklahoma put up five runs in the third inning.

In the fourth inning, Gozzo kept his hot streak going with a solo home run to cut the lead. Later in the sixth inning with the Bison trailing by four runs, Gozzo hit another home run to cut the lead again. That would not be it for him. After senior Josh Timms connected on a double scoring in three runs, Gozzo connected on a single and led to another run being scored on an error. Southeastern scored on a walk off hit and the Bison lost by a score of 8-7.

In the second game of the doubleheader, OBU found themselves trailing early, but they struck back. Berghammer hit a single, which led to a run scored. Timms doubled which led to two runs scored. Gonzalez and Gozzo connected on homers as well. OBU was up seven to one in the third inning. In the fouth inning, Gonzalez hit another home run to have his second homer of the game. Southeastern scored on five unanswered runs that could’ve led to a Bison collapse, but OBU held on to  win the game by a score of 8-7.

The last game of the Southeastern series was cancelled due to rain and will not be rescheduled to a later date.

The Bison have one more series and three more games, all at home against Southern Nazarene. Senior Day will take place Saturday, April 28.