Senior Kayla Jennings hit a game-tying sixth-inning home run in the first game as OC swept Oklahoma Baptist in a doubleheader.
OKLAHOMA CITY (April 28, 2012) – Led by seniors Kayla Jennings and Kimberly Cusher, Oklahoma Christian's softball team closed down Lady Eagle Field in style on Saturday with a 2-1, 4-1 sweep of Oklahoma Baptist.
Jennings delivered a game-tying sixth-inning home run in the opener before freshman Kendra Pierce's bases-loaded single in the eighth inning lifted OC to the win. In the second game, Cusher threw her first complete game of the season, allowing six hits, while Jennings had a run-scoring single and Pierce added two RBIs.
OC (33-15, 14-12 Sooner Athletic Conference) is done with the regular season and should learn Tuesday what time it will play in the first round of the SAC Championship, set to start Friday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The Lady Eagles likely will face St. Gregory's in the first round, although which team will be the fourth seed and which will be the fifth has yet to be determined.
"It was a great day because we had three great seniors who played their last home game," OC coach Tom Heath said. "And it was the last time we'll play on this field. There were a lot of emotions there, as far as wanting to win two games against a conference rival.
"We've still got work to do. We've got the conference tournament coming up."
OC plans to tear down Lady Eagle Field, which has been in place since the softball program in started in 1995, in a few weeks. In its place by next season will be a new stadium with lights, permanent seating, a press box and, eventually, an indoor practice facility.
In Saturday's first game, OBU (21-27, 7-17) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning against OC starter Ashley Paxton, as Candace Holden singled to left and eventually scored on a wild pitch. But that was all of OBU's scoring, as the Bison managed only four hits off Paxton (13-9).
OBU starter Cassidi Henderson had handcuffed the Lady Eagles on two hits through five innings, but OBU coach Pam Fink replaced Henderson with Noelle McDowell to start the sixth. With one out, Jennings sent a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence to tie the game. Henderson re-entered the game in the seventh.
In the eighth inning, with the international tiebreaker in use, both teams started with a runner on second base. OBU's Amanda Harmon reached on an infield single to give the Bison runners at first and third, so OC opted to intentionally walk Ashley Clifton to load the bases. That strategy paid off, as Alison Tunnell lined out to OC's senior shortstop, Davee Croy, and Destinee Santistevan then grounded into a double play to end the inning.
On the first pitch in the bottom of the eighth, OC's Monique Elliott successfully sacrificed baserunner Sarah Peoples to third base. OBU also chose to intentionally load the bases, walking Croy and Jennings, but Pierce lined a two-strike pitch from Henderson into right field to score Peoples and end the game.
The Bison touched Cusher for three first-inning hits in the second game, including an RBI single to centerfield by Santistevan, and led 1-0.
Henderson (9-12) again started in the pitcher's circle for OBU but only made it through one inning. On the first two pitches of the game, Elliott reached on an infield single and Croy singled to centerfield. Jennings followed with an RBI single, and a bad throw by Clifton, OBU's center fielder, let another run score. Pierce's RBI groundout made it 3-1.
McDowell came in and allowed one run in five innings of relief, but Cusher (3-3) gave up only three hits in the final six innings. After battling shoulder issues all season, Cusher was grateful to have gone the distance. She finished with a flourish, striking out two batters in the seventh to give her four strikeouts in the game.
"I'm glad my defense backed me up today," Cusher said. "I couldn't do it without them. We needed a sweep and this will give us more energy going into the conference tournament."
Heath called Cusher's performance "awesome" and said it bodes well as the Lady Eagles head into the SAC tournament.
