Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN ANTONIO (May 4, 2017) – It wasn't how Oklahoma Christian would have preferred it happened, but the Lady Eagles made it to the second day of the Heartland Conference Championship softball tournament on Thursday.

Lubbock Christian (Texas) shut down OC's offense as the Lady Eagles fell 4-0 in their opener, but they rallied from an early deficit and survived several hairy moments to escape with a 2-1, nine-inning win over Newman (Kan.) at The Park at St. Mary's in the tournament's first elimination game. Sheridan Bond tripled and scored in the ninth to keep OC's hopes alive.

Third-seeded OC (32-22) now will need to win four games in the next two days to take the tournament title, starting with a 2:30 p.m. elimination contest on Friday against fourth-seeded Texas A&M International (19-34). If the Lady Eagles win, they'll play either top-seeded tournament host St. Mary's (Texas) or second-seeded Lubbock Christian in another elimination game at 5 p.m.

Newman (17-35) led OC 1-0 after Bayley Horsch tripled and scored on a single up the middle by Rachael Withers. OC answered in the top of the fourth, snapped a 17-inning scoreless streak when Bridget White walked to lead off and scored on an error by Newman second baseman Ellise McGowan on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Niki Davidson.

Davidson reached third base on the play, but later was thrown out at home on a failed squeeze-bunt attempt. The Lady Eagles eventually stranded two baserunners.

The Jets stranded two baserunners in the fifth against OC reliever Madison Hagood (16-11), who replaced starting pitcher Madison Nordyke with one out in the inning. Newman managed only two hits against Hagood, the Heartland pitcher of the year, in 4 2/3 innings, buying time for OC's offense.

The Lady Eagles stranded two runners in the sixth and two more in the eighth, but Bond tripled to center field off Newman reliever Kate Smith (8-15) with one out in the ninth. Haley Squier followed with a fly ball to center field, but Newman's Taylor Mannis overthrew the Jets' catcher while trying to hold Bond on third base, allowing Bond to instead score easily.

Hagood retired the Jets in order in the bottom of the ninth.

In the opener, Hagood and Lubbock Christian starter Katera Eltsosie dueled through three scoreless innings before the Chaparrals broke through in the fourth with four hits, including an RBI single by Lindzi Clemmer. Sydney Buethien tripled and scored to key a two-run fifth for Lubbock Christian (36-16) and the Chaparrals added an insurance run in the sixth.

OC's best chance to score came when the Lady Eagles loaded the bases in the first inning on a hit-by-pitch, a single by Nordyke and a walk by White, but Eltsosie escaped the jam by coaxing a fly ball out of Kayla Eichler.

Singles by Nordyke and White gave the Lady Eagles a pair of baserunners in the sixth, but Eltsosie (19-5) struck out the next two batters. She finished with nine strikeouts.

Lubbock Christian "is one of those teams that you can't make mistakes against and if you do, they will take advantage of it," OC coach Tom Heath said. "Likewise, they made a mistake or two and we had opportunities, but their pitcher was pretty tough on us."

Lubbock Christian game on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkPZhMkdiZw

Newman game on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDgGnqLNZzw 

OC postgame press conference after Lubbock Christian game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWShkGvCHU0