OKLAHOMA CITY (Dec. 25, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian's 2018 softball season certainly was one of the memorable variety and – as often happens after such a campaign – big awards rolled in for the Lady Eagles.

The Lady Eagles' run to the Heartland Conference Championship tournament title game, and the major honors subsequently received by Kaylie Upton and coach Tom Heath, rank as the No. 7 story in OC athletics for 2018.

OC finished second in the Heartland's regular-season standings and then – for the first time – won its opening game in the conference tournament, edging Lubbock Christian (Texas) 3-2 in 10 innings in San Antonio.

Two days later, a three-error inning spelled disaster for OC in an 8-3 loss to a Rogers State squad that the Lady Eagles had gone 5-0 against during the regular season, but the Lady Eagles rebounded to down host St. Mary's (Texas) 4-2 in an elimination game to earn a rematch against Rogers State.

The title game proved to be the longest in OC history, as the Lady Eagles battled Rogers State for 13 innings before falling 4-3, ending a 32-25 season.

The disappointment soon was replaced by pride, especially as two team members received major awards. First, utility player deluxe Kaylie Upton made the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-South Central Region second-team list. Upton went 13-5 as a pitcher with one save, a 3.31 ERA and as a hitter, she posted a .337 batting average with two home runs, 23 RBIs and a .470 slugging percentage.

A few weeks later, she was named as the state's Division II player of the year by the website OklahomaSports.net, which also selected Heath as its coach of the year. The website annually produces an honor list featuring players and coaches from the state's 11 Division II programs, which are spread across four conferences. It was the first time an OC softball player or coach had received either award.