Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OKLAHOMA CITY (April 17, 2015) – Oklahoma Christian might not be in contention for the Heartland Conference regular-season softball title, but the Lady Eagles are impacting the championship race nonetheless.

For the second time in a week, the Lady Eagles have taken a series from a team leading the league. On Friday it was against No. 6-ranked St. Mary's (Texas), which had an 18-game winning streak end after falling 2-0 and 5-4 to OC at Tom Heath Field.

St. Mary's (35-9, 15-4 Heartland) had taken over the top spot in the conference just last week, after OC (24-16, 12-8) won two of three from then-league-leading Lubbock Christian (Texas). Now, after OC's doubleheader sweep, Lubbock Christian finds itself back on top.

It was stellar pitching from Shea Coats and Taylor Mosher and timely hitting up and down the OC lineup – including a critical two-run single by Kendra Pierce in the opener – that lifted the Lady Eagles against the Rattlers.

The opener was a showdown between the two pitchers widely considered to be the best in the Heartland – Coats and Vianna Gutierrez Touchtone of St. Mary's. Coats (12-8), who threw a one-hitter to beat the Rattlers in San Antonio last season, nearly matched that effort with a two-hitter, surrendering only a fourth-inning infield single to Sydney Wellman and a two-out single in the seventh by Gutierrez Touchtone.

Gutierrez Touchtone (20-4) worked out of jams the entire game, as OC stranded at least one baserunner in each inning. The Lady Eagles finally broke through in the sixth. Jordan Chism walked with one out and Kelsie Finch followed with a single. Monique Elliott reached on a fielder's choice, sending Chism to third, then stole second base. Courtney Starr walked to load the bases.

That brought up Pierce, the conference's leading hitter, and she delivered a single to left field to score Chism and Elliott. Those runs were all that Coats needed, as the right-hander struck out eight and walked only two.

In the second game, Nicole Sardelich tripled to lead off the first inning for the Rattlers, but was called out for leaving the base too early on a potential sacrifice fly by Taylor Vidrine. That lost run later proved costly.

Elliott walked and scored in the first on a groundout by Niki Davidson. OC went up 5-0 with a four-run fourth inning against St. Mary's starter Hope Russell (13-5). Sheridan Bond and Elliott each had an RBI single during the outburst.

Mosher (4-3) lost her shutout bid in the sixth, when pinch-hitter Laura Benevidez hit a three-run home run over the left-field wall. Coats came on in relief and pitched the final two innings, surrendering only a solo home run by Vidrine with two outs in the seventh while recording her fourth save of the season.

OC and St. Mary's will complete the three-game series on Saturday at noon. Before the game, the Lady Eagles will honor the team's five seniors – Pierce, Elliott, Mosher, Starr and Krystal Rodriguez.