Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 OKLAHOMA CITY (March 29, 2018) – Connor Litterell had been bugging his Oklahoma Christian coaches to pitch more and head coach Lonny Cobble was looking to shake things up with his pitching staff, so Cobble opted to start the junior right-hander in the Eagles' series opener against St. Mary's (Texas).

That decision proved fortuitous. Originally scheduled to pitch only three or four innings, Litterell – making his first start for OC – instead threw a four-hit shutout against the traditional NCAA Division II power, leading the Eagles to a 5-0 win at Dobson Field on Thursday to snap their six-game losing streak.

St. Mary's (20-8, 4-2 Heartland Conference) rallied from an early deficit to edge OC 4-3 in the second game of the doubleheader. The Rattlers and OC (10-15, 1-5) will play another doubleheader on Friday, starting at noon.

Litterell (1-0), a junior from Tuttle, had pitched only 8 2/3 innings this season and faced a tall task going against St. Mary's ace left-hander Fernando Fernandez (4-3). That didn't faze Litterell, who never allowed a St. Mary's runner past second base while giving up only four singles and two walks.

The complete game was the first by an OC pitcher this season, as was the shutout, which was sealed by two outstanding sliding catches of deep foul balls by left fielder Ryan Ward (in the sixth) and right fielder Chad Kennedy (to end the game in the seventh).

"We figured we'd start him and see if he'd put his money where his mouth is," Cobble said. "He went out and pitched well. He landed his curve ball. Everything he was throwing, he was keeping around the plate and he gave himself a chance.

The Eagles scored a pair of unearned runs in the first off Fernandez – who also pitched a complete game – with Kyle Bottger's double the big blow. Kolton Brown and Alex Garcia each hit an RBI single in the third to put OC up 4-0 and Kennedy's sacrifice fly in the sixth scored Garrett Wages, who had walked with one out.

The second game was following a similar script through five innings, as OC starter Skyler Martin (3-2) blanked the Rattlers during that stretch while the Eagles took an early lead. Jake Collins doubled and scored on Ward's first-inning single and Callen Crockett tripled in the third, then stole home on a botched suicide squeeze play to put OC up 2-0.

But after 12 scoreless innings, the Rattlers broke through with a three-run sixth, with Jacob Aguilar and Mario Vela each delivering an RBI single and pinch-hitter Steven Wynn following with a sacrifice fly to score Aguilar and give St. Mary's a 3-2 lead.

Wynn doubled home Vela in the eighth inning to make it 4-2. Wages walked to lead off the bottom of the eighth and scored on a double by Crockett, but St. Mary's starter Zach De La Garza (6-1) rebounded to retire OC's final five batters to finish the game. De La Garza finished with 11 strikeouts.