OKLAHOMA CITY (April 18, 2019) – Needing a doubleheader sweep of league-leading Rogers State to keep alive their hopes for a Heartland Conference regular-season softball title, the Oklahoma Christian Eagles combined clutch hitting with solid pitching while catching a couple of breaks.

The end result proved to be the sweep they needed, as the Eagles used a seventh-inning rally to pull out a 3-2 win in the opener, then held off a Rogers State rally in the second game to prevail 6-4.

OC (32-12, 16-9 Heartland) moved percentage points ahead of St. Mary's (Texas) (28-20, 17-10) for the league lead, with Rogers State (31-19, 16-11) in third. St. Mary's was No. 8 and Rogers State was No. 9 in the NCAA Division II South Central Region rankings released Wednesday, while OC was unranked.

OC has a home doubleheader remaining Tuesday against Newman (Kan.) before making the trip to Claremore for a three-game series at Rogers State on April 26-27. St. Mary's will host St. Edward's (Texas) for a three-game series, also April 26-27. The regular-season champ will host the Heartland tournament, set for May 2-4.

In the first game, OC freshman right-hander Kali Crandall (11-4) pitched a complete-game two-hitter. One of those hits was a two-run single by Allie McFetridge that put the Hillcats up 2-0 in the first inning. Crandall retired nine straight Rogers State batters in one stretch and allowed only one runner to reach third base after the first inning.

OC scored once in the first inning, as Hunter Strickland led off with a double to left field and scored on a single by Lindsey Stoeckel. The Eagles tied the game in the fifth, when Kayla Eichler hit a leadoff triple off Rogers State starter Andrea Morales and scored on a sacrifice fly by reigning Heartland hitter of the week Daelyn Denny.

Brie Dunckel's one-out pinch-hit infield single in the seventh led to the decisive run for OC. Dunckel stole second base and advanced to third on a single to left field by Sierra Schultz, who then stole second base herself. When Rogers State catcher Abigail Taylor tried to pick off Dunckel, her throw sailed into left field, allowing Dunckel to trot home with the winning run.

Rogers State also started the second game with a two-run first inning, with both runs scoring on a home run by Danelle Day. Again, the Eagles rallied. Strickland singled with one out in the third and eventually scored on an error, and in the fourth, Eichler doubled and scored on a single by Schultz to tie the game.

OC broke through in a big way against Morales (22-10) – who threw every pitch for the Hillcats in the doubleheader – in the fifth. Bridget White hit a leadoff double to left field before Morales hit Kaylie Upton with a pitch. A single by Sydney Smith scored White to put OC ahead, and Denny soon followed with a two-run single to make it 5-2. Sabolski's single to center field brought home to give the Eagle s a four-run lead.

Hagood (15-6) didn't allow another run in her six innings before giving way to Crandall in the seventh. Day hit another two-run homer off Crandall and the Hillcats put the potential tying runs on base, but Crandall settled down to strike out Taylor Santistevan and retire Paige Westover on a foul popup to end the game.