OC-NWOSU box
OC-KWU box
OC-LCU box

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas (March 15, 2008) – The Oklahoma Christian softball team beat Kansas Wesleyan and lost to Sooner Athletic Conference foes Northwestern Oklahoma State and Lubbock Christian (Texas) Saturday at the OC Farmers Branch Invitational in suburban Dallas.

The Lady Eagles moved to 11-11 on the season entering Tuesday's game against defending Big 12 Conference champion Baylor in Waco. The Lady Eagles and Lady Bears will play at 3 and 5 p.m. at BU's state-of-the-art new softball facility.

After splitting Friday's games at the Farmers Branch Invitational, the Lady Eagles looked to be in control in Saturday's opener. But a six-run NWOSU sixth doomed the Lady Eagles, as the Lady Rangers won 6-4.

OC scored twice in the second inning to take the lead. Courtney Gunderson lifted a line drive just over the shortstop's head to plate Allissa Hejl. Then Christin Dobbs connected on a seeing-eye single through the right side to bring Gunderson home.

The Lady Rangers failed to record a hit off OC pitcher Sophia Johnson until a fourth-inning double by Jackie Kopacek. But a pair of fielder's choice rollouts to Kati Jo Gabaldon and Jeana Hancock squashed the threat.

OC put another run on the board in the fifth when Tracy Washam roped a liner to left that plated Dobbs to make it 3-0.

But NWOSU loaded the bases in the sixth before Linzi Farris relieved Johnson. Farris induced a harmless popup to first base before Hancock finally got the Lady Rangers over the hump with a two-RBI single up the middle.

The Lady Rangers brought four more across in the inning to take a 6-3 lead. The big blow came on a triple by Janette Galdindo.

Washam doubled off the wall with two outs in the seventh to score Dobbs and make it 6-4. But OC would not score again as NWOSU improved to 11-4 on the season.

Dobbs and Washam were each 3-for-4 in the loss.

Game two pitted OC against KWU for the second time in as many days. Farris regrouped after taking the game-one loss with a three-hitter to help the Lady Eagles to a 5-1 victory.

OC went up 1-0 in the first when Sandra Darmstadt plated Dobbs on a groundout to second base.

Farris put zeroes on the board in the next four innings before OC added an insurance run in the fifth to go up 2-0.

Dobbs laced a two-out double down the right-field line and then scored on a Deidre Chatigny single past the shortstop for the score.

OC tacked on two more in the next inning when Brittany Rice's seemingly inning-ending popup was misplayed by the shortstop, allowing Rachel Smith and Jessica Hauf to score.

Dobbs led off the seventh with her second two-bagger of the day to the right-field fence. She came home on another Chatigny RBI single to push OC's lead to 5-0.

KWU scratched out a run in the bottom half, but Farris (3-6) slammed the door to pick up her third win of the season.

Dobbs was 3-for-4 in game two with three runs scored. Chatigny was also 3-for-4 with two driven in.

The invitational's final contest pitted OC against Lubbock Christian (Texas). The Lady Chaps entered the game having won their previous four games at Farmers Branch by a combined score of 28-0.

The game's first three-and-a-half innings were true to form with OC's Caitlin Matthies and LCU's Kelly Griego trading scoreless frames.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Chaps finally broke the scoreless tie when Amanda Parsons lined an RBI single to left to make it 1-0.

The Lady Eagles got consecutive two-out hits from Casey Brady and Courtney Gunderson in the top of the fifth, but could not capitalize.

LCU posted another single-run inning in its half to assume a 2-0 advantage. Gabby Woody then led off the seventh with a home run over the centerfield fence to extend the Lady Chaps' edge to 3-0.

Hejl reached on an error to start the seventh, but the Lady Eagles went down in order from there as LCU improved to 21-2 on the season.

Caitlin Matthies (4-2) took the loss for Oklahoma Christian.