Game one box
Game two box

CLAREMORE, Okla. (Feb. 28, 2008) – Oklahoma Christian fell 5-4 and 8-6 to Rogers State (Okla.) on Tuesday in Claremore. The losses moved OC to 5-6 and 2-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

The Lady Eagles took game one's first lead when Sandra Darmstadt stroked a double into the right-centerfield gap that plated Allissa Hejl. The score was 1-0 OC after 1.5 innings.

But RSU responded with two in the home half. Kelli Dunagan began the inning with a single, then two-basers from Chasidy Austin and Tanya Koch gave RSU a 2-1 edge.

The Hillcats put another run on the board in the third to take a 3-2 lead.

Then OC used a two-run fifth to tie the score. Deidre Chatigny worked a walk to lead off the inning, then she moved to third when Tracy Washam lifted a double over the left fielder's head.

Chatigny charged home when Amy Urbanovsky's ground ball was booted by the shortstop. Three batters later, Darmstadt singled home Washam to knot the game in a 3-3 tie.

The game remained scoreless through the next two frames.

Caitlin Matthies pitched out of a two-on, one-out situation in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra frames.

Matthies got Katie Bointy to pop up to second, then induced an inning-ending groundout to short from Randi Tyler to extinguish the threat.

International tiebreaker rules put Darmstadt at second base to begin the eighth. She moved to second on Courtney Gunderson's groundout. Then an errant throw on a Christin Dobbs' grounder resulted in Darmstadt being thrown out at home. Dobbs moved to second on the sequence.

Then Chatigny reached on an error that plated Dobbs to give the Lady Eagles' a 4-3 lead.

But the Hillcats snatched the 5-4 win with a wild finish.

Megan Wood laid down an inning-opening bunt, but Rachel Smith's throw from third grazed off a covering Hejl's glove. Randi Tyler, who was on second by the tiebreaker rule, came home on the play.

In the confusion, Wood found her way all the way to home plate after Chatigny's throw to second bounced into the outfield. The run proved to be the game-winner.

Matthies was the hard-luck loser. The freshman went seven innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. She struck out six batters.

Washam was 3-for-5 in the loss while Darmstadt was 2-for-4.

OC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second game. Dobbs reached on an error to start the frame, then came around to score when Washam roped a double down the leftfield line.

Then Smith plated Chatigny on a sacrifice fly into to right field.

But RSU scored three in the home half to take the lead.

Randi Tyler scored all three on three-run homer over the leftfield wall.

Linzi Farris put zeroes on the board in the second and third innings before OC locked the game at 3-3 in the fourth.

Darmstadt laced a double off the base of the leftfield fence to start the inning. Then with two outs, Dobbs hit a seeing-eye single up the middle to tie the game.

Two more Hillcats touched home in the bottom of the inning. Lauren Looper singled, then scored when Dobbs lost Sara Walkup's fly ball in the setting sun. Walkup came home on a Lillian Nevarez single to give RSU a 5-3 edge.

Another RSU run in the fifth made it a 6-3 Hillcat advantage.

But OC was not done. Hejl perfectly laid a leadoff double into the right-centerfield gap to start the sixth. She moved to third on a Darmstadt base hit, then walked home when Casey Brady hit a towering double to right center.

Tiffany Sherman continued the rally when she laced a line drive narrowly passed the second baseman into right to plate Darmstadt and make it a 6-5 game.

Then Dobbs kept the wheel spinning on a grounder through the hole on the left side that sent Brady home and tied it at 6-6.

The Hillcats scratched two runs in the next half inning to assume an 8-6 lead.

A leadoff walk to Chasidy Austin came back to haunt Farris after she scored on Marie Gaudet's fielder's choice. Nevarez then came home to give RSU a two-run cushion.

A one-out walk to Hejl did not formulize in the seventh as RSU took the two-game sweep.

Dobbs and Darmstadt were 2-for-4 in game two. Farris took the loss after six innings of six-run softball. She struck out six.

OC heads to Lubbock, Texas, this weekend for the Lubbock Christian Invitational. The Lady Eagles play both Friday and Saturday in Lubbock.