Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 DURANT, Okla. (Feb. 5, 2016) – Oklahoma Christian softball coach Tom Heath is using the first few weeks of the season as an experiment, trying different lineups and strategies as he's learning the strengths of his young squad.

The Lady Eagles showed flashes of promise on Friday afternoon in the Southeastern Regional Invitational, but just not enough to avoid a pair of losses on their season's opening day. OC fell to Missouri Southern 9-3 in the opener, then 13-5 against Central Oklahoma in its second game at the Durant Multi-Sports Complex.

"What I told the players after the game is that this is a work in progress," Heath said. "We're going to play several people over the course of this tournament and our next tournament before we get a starting lineup, if you will. We've got a lot of good talent on this team, but we're very, very young. We made a lot of freshman mistakes, mentally as well as physically.

"It's going to get better. I told them to keep their heads up. We're not going to get down on this. We're going to keep working hard, but we are going to make some changes. We've got to keep playing."

In the opener, Missouri Southern (1-1) took advantage of a fielding error by the Lady Eagles to seize control with a four-run third inning.

OC trailed 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth before Kelsie Finch singled and freshman Kirsten Scott followed with a two-run home run to left-center field. But the Lady Eagles managed just one more hit the rest of the way.

The Lions' Sarah Williams and Kylie Wesbrooks hit consecutive solo homers in the sixth to make it 7-3 and Missouri Southern tacked on two more runs in the seventh. OC loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't produce any runs.

Sophomore Madison Nordyke took the pitching loss for OC, while Taurean Guzman earned the win for the Lions.

In the second game, UCO (1-1) scored seven runs on eight hits – including two triples and a double – in the third inning, taking advantage of another key error by OC to break the inning open.

The Bronchos led 8-0 at that point and looked to run away and hide, but OC answered with a five-run fourth inning, with freshman Bridget White delivering a two-run double down the right-field line and Jordan Chism adding a two-run single that pulled the Lady Eagles within 8-5. Chism went 3-for-3 in the game.

UCO kept up the offensive pressure, though, scoring twice in the fourth, once in the fifth and two more times in the sixth to finish off a run-rule win. Due to four OC errors, only seven of the Bronchos' 13 runs off starter Madison Hagood (0-1) and reliever Kaylie Upton were earned.

Jessi Walker (1-0) pitched four innings to record the win for UCO. Four Bronchos had three hits apiece – Ally Dziadula, JoBi Heath, Lexi Watson and Halley Randolph.

OC will continue play in the Southeastern event on Saturday, facing Emporia State (Kan.) at 10 a.m. and Division II power Central Missouri at 12:30 p.m.