Oxford baseball got off to a hot start in region play this week as they swept Grenada in their Region 1-6A opening series.

The Chargers (12-6, 3-0 Region 1-6A) scored 11 runs per game in the series, jumping all over Grenada’s pitching staff and forcing them to work deep into their bullpen.

After a 7-5 victory at home in game one of the series on Tuesday, Oxford won a high-scoring 16-14 battle on the road Thursday before claiming the series finale 10-2 on Saturday.

Senior lefty Philip Neilson impressed for Oxford on the mound in Saturday’s victory, surrendering just one earned run in four innings of work while striking out six batters.

The southpaw’s night came to a close in the fifth when he handed the ball over to freshman Josh Scruggs, who tossed three scoreless innings in the first varsity appearance of his career.

Neither pitcher faced much adversity in the contest as Oxford provided plenty of run support, plating runs in each of the first five innings to to open up a 10-2 advantage.

Junior Reid Kent recorded three hits on the night, driving in three runs on a pair of RBI singles and crossing the plate twice himself.

Senior Drew Carter also had a multi-hit night for the Chargers, recording a single and a double and coming around to score on both occasions.

Senior catcher Campbell Smithwick had perhaps the most impressive line of the night however, reaching base four times and scoring three runs from his position at the top of the lineup.

The Chargers will be back in action next week when they take on Starkville in another key Region 1-6A series. Oxford will host the Yellowjackets on Thursday between road games on Tuesday and Friday.