Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 DURANT, Okla. (Feb. 4, 2017) – The pitching was there for Oklahoma Christian on Friday in the Southeastern Regional Invitational, but the hitting was not, perhaps a victim of the frigid weather in southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday.

Whatever the reason, the Lady Eagles managed only two runs in two games, falling to Rockhurst (Mo.) 5-1 in the morning before dropping a 2-1 decision in the early afternoon to Central Missouri at the Durant Multi-Sports Complex.

"Our pitchers threw well enough to win the ballgames for us," OC coach Tom Heath said. "We just couldn't get the bats going. No excuses on the weather – it was the same for both teams. It was probably the coldest weather that one of our juniors said she'd ever played in at the college level. But no excuses – we just didn't get it done."

The game-time temperature for OC (2-2) and Rockhurst was 39 degrees, the sky was overcast and a steady west wind blowing throughout lowered wind chills into the upper 20s and low 30s – not exactly ideal softball conditions.

Both teams scratched out a run in the second inning, with each scoring on a two-out fielding error. OC sophomore Kayla Eichler (0-1), playing on her birthday, made her first pitching start since last Feb. 7 and allowed only three hits through four innings, but the Hawks broke through in the fifth for four runs on five hits, four of those coming with two outs.

Lauren Marks' RBI single put Rockhurst (1-2) ahead 2-1. Lexie Zuniga followed with another RBI single and Megan Freitag drove home two more runs with another single to make it 5-1.

Rockhurst's Bridgette Sappington (1-1) relieved starter Payton Staggs in the circle after two innings and went the rest of the way, limiting the Lady Eagles to three hits in five innings.

In the second game, OC faced a Central Missouri squad only two seasons removed from an appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship and stood toe-to-toe with the Jennies all the way.

Madison Hagood (1-1) overcame a shaky start to throw a complete game for OC, but the sophomore left-hander surrendered a two-run home run to Courtni Smith in the second inning. Central Missouri (3-1) also threatened in the fifth with two singles, but a spectacular catch in right field by Eichler with one out helped keep the Jennies off the scoreboard in the inning.

Central Missouri pitcher Alexa Bradley also shined, limiting the Lady Eagles to four hits. OC scored its only run in the sixth inning, when Sheridan Bond drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a double down the right-field line by Madison Nordyke. But Bradley (1-1) retired OC's next three batters in order to end the threat.

"We did play good defense and we did pitch well," Heath said. "The hitting will come around.

"We're looking at trying to get better every game. The winning and losing is in the back of our mind right now. We're trying to get better every day and we're trying to learn from these tournaments, and we have. We're going to use this to get better, and if we get some wins, that's great."

OC will wrap up play in the invitational on Sunday, facing Missouri Southern and Southwestern Oklahoma State.

Tom Heath discusses the games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruxe2kISTtk&feature=youtu.be