OKLAHOMA CITY (April 23, 2019) – Oklahoma Christian is back to needing help to win the Heartland Conference regular-season softball title, but the Eagles still are in the thick of the race thanks to a bounce-back win Tuesday afternoon against Newman (Kan.).
Last-place Newman stunned the Eagles 5-4 in a doubleheader opener at Tom Heath Field, knocking OC out of first place, but the Eagles rebounded behind a complete-game three-hit shutout by
Lindsey Stoeckel to take the second game 9-0, finishing off the run-rule win with a fifth-inning grand slam by
Brie Dunckel.
OC (33-13, 17-10 Heartland) is tied atop the league standings with St. Mary's (Texas) (28-21, 17-10), but the Rattlers own the tiebreaker, having won the season series against OC. Lurking one game behind is Rogers State (31-19, 16-11), which owns a tiebreaker with St. Mary's but trails OC 2-0 in that season series.
OC will visit Rogers State on Friday and Saturday for a three-game series, while St. Mary's will host archrival St. Edward's (Texas) – which already has been eliminated from contention for the Heartland postseason tournament – for a three-game series on the same days. The regular-season champion gets to host the postseason tournament.
Essentially, the Eagles need to win one more game than St. Mary's does this weekend to earn the right to host.
OC led Newman (14-35, 8-22) 4-1 in the opener after a four-run third inning keyed by RBI doubles by
Kaylie Upton and Stoeckel and a sacrifice fly by
Kayla Eichler. But the Jets rallied with three runs in the top of the fifth, with Lauren Kuhrt and Emma Eck hitting triples. Eck's drove in two runs and she scored on a double by Lacey Colvin, tying the game.
Newman took the lead in controversial fashion in the fifth against OC reliever
Kali Crandall (11-5). With two outs, Kameron Pope and Kuhrt both singled to put runners on first and second base and Paige Wallace followed with another single, to left field. The throw to home plate from Stoeckel beat pinch-runner Shanda Cox and Cox didn't appear to touch home plate while sliding, but she was ruled safe, giving Newman a 5-4 advantage.
OC wasted a leadoff double by Stoeckel in the sixth, as she was doubled off second base when Kuhrt, Newman's center fielder, caught a sinking fly ball by Eichler. Newman pitcher Dominique Payne (9-11) allowed only five hits while going the distance to pick up the win.
In the second game, all six of OC's seniors – playing in their final regular-season home game – contributed offensively as the Eagles cruised to the run-rule win.
Leadoff batter
Hunter Strickland went 2 for 3 and scored twice, Upton hit an RBI single in the first inning,
Bridget White doubled and drove in two runs, Eichler drove in a run,
Lacey Davidson went 2 for 2 with an RBI and
Madison Hagood – normally a pitcher only – doubled into the right-center field gap in the fourth inning for her first career extra-base hit.
Upton and Davidson hit RBI singles off Newman starter Chantel Purcella (3-10) in the first inning, staking the Eagles to a 2-0 lead. White's double keyed a two-run third inning for the Eagles and Hagood's double led to another run, when pinch-runner
Sydney Smith scored on a sacrifice fly by Upton.
In the fifth, Newman reliever Lauryn Ogden hit Davidson with a pitch, Stoeckel singled and
Sierra Schultz walked to load the bases. The Jets went to another reliever, Bailey Bugner, to face Dunckel, who lined a shot over the right-field wall for her second homer of the season.
Stoeckel (3-1) pitched her first complete game of the season, striking out three batters and not allowing a Newman runner past second base.
OC and Rogers State will play a single game at 6 p.m. Friday in Claremore and a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon.
OC Softball 2019 Senior video:
https://youtu.be/ITffv6K2T6o
OC Softball Senior Day video:
https://youtu.be/ZsZaaOQHN8U
