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Box Score 2 SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 22, 2014) – Shea Coats picked up two pitching wins and Danielle Collins and Martha Thomas had key hits as Oklahoma Christian won a pair of games Saturday in the Rattler Softball Invitational, beating Eastern New Mexico 8-5 and Tarleton State (Texas) 4-2.
OC (6-5) has won three of its four games in the event being hosted by Heartland Conference rival St. Mary's (Texas), with one game remaining, on Sunday against Western Oregon.
Against Tarleton State – a team that swept the Lady Eagles last season – Coats (4-2) went the distance, allowing five hits and two unearned runs (both in the seventh inning) while striking out six batters.
Monique Elliott's single in the third inning off Tarleton State starter Randi Fentress (4-5) scored Sarah Endres with OC's first run and the Lady Eagles added three more runs in the fourth, two on a pinch-hit single by Collins that put OC ahead 4-0.
Two errors in the seventh allowed the TexAnns (7-11) to rally, but with the potential tying run on base, Coats retired Eryn Freitas on a ground ball to first base to end the game.
In OC's first game of the day, against Eastern New Mexico (6-8), Coats came on in the fifth in relief and struck out five while allowing one hit in 2 1/3 innings.
Haley Goodin's single down the left-field line put OC ahead of the Zias 2-0 in the second inning. The Lady Eagles made it 5-0 in the top of the third against Eastern New Mexico starter Mary Jo Granger, with Courtney Starr delivering a two-run single and Abby Taliaferro adding a RBI single.
The Zias scored once off OC starter Haley Squier in the third, then added four more runs in the fifth, two on a double to right-center field by Kyra Sirag, to tie the game at 5-5.
OC answered with a three-run sixth off Eastern New Mexico reliever Cailin Garmon (3-4). Lauren Chatigny walked and eventually scored on an error by first baseman Shelby Ripple. Kendra Pierce and Thomas followed with doubles to make it 7-5 and Kala Ratliff later added a sacrifice fly.
It was OC's second win over Eastern New Mexico in as many days.
