Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 SAN ANTONIO (April 22, 2018) – Oklahoma Christian did something Sunday the Lady Eagles never had done before, and now the Heartland Conference softball race is a lot more interesting.

OC swept perennial league power St. Mary's (Texas) 4-0 and 8-3 on the Rattlers' home field, results that give any of five teams in the Heartland – including the Lady Eagles – a chance to host the league's postseason tournament in less than two weeks.

OC (27-22, 16-10 Heartland) jumped two spots into third place in the league, while St. Mary's (29-21, 15-9) dropped out of first place into second, behind Texas A&M International (23-30, 17-10). Also in the hunt are fourth-place Rogers State (33-15, 14-9) and fifth-place Lubbock Christian (Texas) (27-14, 16-11).

The OC-St. Mary's series finale will be on Monday at noon, with the winner taking the five-game overall season series and a potential tiebreaker that could prove key. All five teams have one league series remaining after Monday and the regular-season champion will host the postseason tournament.

In the opener Sunday, OC rode the hot pitching of junior right-hander Kaylie Upton (12-4), who tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout while outdueling the Rattlers' Alex McLennan (3-8).

The Lady Eagles scored once in the first inning, as Sheridan Fuller drew a leadoff walk and eventually came home on a single by Bridget White, and Upton made that lead stand up all the way. She escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first and allowed only two baserunners after that, retiring 11 in a row to end the game.

OC added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh, one on a RBI single by Kayla Eichler and two on a double to right-center field by Bailey Strecker.

Triples in the third inning by Kristal Salinas and Brenda Iparraguirre gave St. Mary's a 2-1 lead in the second game, but OC seized control with a seven-run fifth inning. Eichler and Upton each hit a two-run double off St. Mary's starter Hope Russell (11-7) and Lacey Davidson smacked a three-run home run over the left-field fence off reliever Katelyn Corley to make it 8-2.

OC junior left-hander Madison Hagood (10-10) pitched 4 2/3 innings to pick up the win. Madison Nordyke allowed only one hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief in the circle for the Lady Eagles.