Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY (April 26, 2014) – Fittingly, on Senior Day, it was two of Oklahoma Christian's six seniors –
Sarah Endres and
Lauren Chatigny – who provided much of the Lady Eagles' offense on Saturday afternoon in their regular-season finale against Texas A&M International.
And boding well for the program's future, it was freshman
Shea Coats who again gave OC another strong outing in the pitching circle, throwing her fifth shutout in her last six starts as the Lady Eagles completed a series sweep of TAMIU with a 2-0 win at Tom Heath Field.
OC (35-14, 17-6 Heartland Conference) finished in third place in the league's regular-season standings, two games behind NCAA Division II power St. Mary's (Texas) and fellow conference newcomer Lubbock Christian (Texas). OC and LCU aren't eligible for the conference tournament, however, although the Lady Eagles' season is far from over.
OC will be off until May 8, when the Lady Eagles begin play in the National Christian College Athletic Association Central Region tournament. OC will be the tournament host and by winning would advance to the NCCAA Championship in Troutville, Va.
"This starts another season," Heath said. "We're looking forward to it. We're playing really good ball right now. We're peaking at the right time. We're not injured. Everything is working our way right now. We're looking forward to this tournament. I hope people follow us. It should be a fun ride."
OC finished the regular season with a 22-4 home record, losing only to Division II No. 1-ranked West Texas A&M twice, No. 13 Emporia State (Kan.) once and league rival St. Edward's (Texas) once.
The Lady Eagles honored their seniors – Chatigny, Endres,
Krista Martony,
Lauren Pittman,
Kala Ratliff and
Martha Thomas – before the game Saturday and all six were in the starting lineup to face TAMIU pitcher Mariena Gallardo.
OC broke through against Gallardo (7-12) in the third inning. Endres drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second base by Ratliff. Endres then stole her team-high 16th base of the year, swiping third, and scored when TAMIU catcher Brittany Mussett's throw sailed into left field.
Chatigny doubled down the right-field line and
Kendra Pierce followed with OC's only run-scoring hit of the game, a double to left-center field that made it 2-0.
"Their pitcher threw a good game and kept us off-balance," Heath said. "But Sarah got on base and her speed is tremendous. Then Kendra came up and got a double to knock in
Lauren Chatigny, who got a basehit. We only had four hits, but we made the most of it."
That proved to be enough for Coats (20-2). The right-hander allowed six hits – after allowing a total of 10 in her previous five starts – and had to wriggle out of two jams. The Dustdevils put their first two runners on base in the first, but Coats recovered and retired the next 11 batters.
In the sixth, singles by Chelsea Capello and Gallardo and a walk to Cassie DeLeon loaded the bases for TAMIU (19-34, 10-14) with one out, but pinch-hitter Victoria Gomez fouled out to the catcher and Cassie Garcia struck out, ending the threat.
Coats finished with 10 strikeouts, one day after recording 14 in a complete-game win over TAMIU. She also saved the middle game of the series, allowing one run in 15 innings of work in the three games.
"Shea shut them out but it wasn't real easy," Heath said. "That was her second full game in two days, along with one inning of relief yesterday. She didn't have quite her best stuff, but at the same time, when she needed it, it came. It was there. I was proud of her."
Because OC and Lubbock Christian aren't eligible for the Heartland Conference tournament, TAMIU and Texas-Permian Basin both will play in the event, along with St. Mary's and St. Edward's, which will be the top two seeds, respectively. OC went 8-3 against that foursome this season.
