OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 9, 2020) – After scratching and clawing for a 2-1 win over Southwest Baptist (Mo.) on Sunday, Oklahoma Christian was looking to get its offense on track in its next softball game of the day, against Missouri Southern.
Safe to say that happened, in a big way. The Eagles pounced on Missouri Southern for a school-record 15 runs in the first inning en route to a 20-3 romp in the final game of the first weekend of the Edmond Regional Festival at Tom Heath Field.
OC (9-1) extended its winning streak to eight games, including a 5-0 mark for the week as the Eagles began a stretch of 20 straight contests at home. Coach
Shanon Hays said his team needed a strong performance against Missouri Southern (1-3) after a couple of lackluster performances against Pittsburg State (Kan.) on Saturday and Southwest Baptist (0-5).
"You hope that that can be a sign of a good team to come, that you figure out a way to win in a lot of different areas," Hays said. "We finally started swinging the bat a little bit, but I was disappointed with our approach at the plate. We weren't taking good swings. We weren't focused in.
"It's nice to not play well and find a way to win. The problem is, when we go into the Lone Star Conference, if you don't play well, you get beat, so we've got to find a way to shore it up. … It was nice to learn a few things and still win today."
Southwest Baptist didn't make it easy. Pitcher Alexis Dock (0-1) scattered six hits and kept the Eagles off kilter for most of the game, and Reilly Rupert hit a third-inning solo home run off OC starter
Lindsey Stoeckel to give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Stoeckel otherwise was brilliant, allowing only three hits in six innings of work.
Only one OC baserunner had reached as far as third base before the sixth inning when, with one out,
Jaiden Johnson doubled down the left-field one. With two outs,
Brianna Robinson's single down the right-field line scored Johnson to tie the game.
Katelyn Dunckel led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to left-center field. With one out, she stole third base and catcher Aubry Hernandez's throw eluded third baseman Janessa Rivera, allowing Dunckel to scoot home with the winning run.
Karrah Dean (1-1), who relieved Stoeckel, picked up the pitching win.
Missouri Southern jumped on OC starter
Kali Crandall for four hits and three runs (one unearned) in the top of the first, but the Eagles responded with an inning for the ages against Missouri Southern starter Natalie Hamm (0-1) and reliever Meredith Iden.
The Eagles sent 19 batters to the plate – with the first 10 reaching base – and had seven hits, including two run-scoring hits (a double and single) by Dunckel that brought home four runs. Missouri Southern pitchers issued six walks and hit four batters.
Daelyn Denny had a RBI triple to center field in her second plate appearance to make it 15-3.
The Lone Star Conference's one-page online record book doesn't include an entry for most runs in an inning, but according to the NCAA Division II record book, OC's 15-run outburst ranked second in LSC history, behind only a 16-run first inning for West Texas A&M against New Mexico Highlands on April 15, 2014.
The 15 runs also were the most by any Division II team in an inning this season and tied for 17th on the Division II all-time list. The previous OC record for runs in an inning was 13, recorded in a 23-0 win over Hillsdale Baptist (now known as Randall) on May 8, 2014.
The Eagles added five more runs in the fourth inning, with
Brie Dunckel and
Kaitlyn Dennis each contributing an RBI double.
Jaiden Johnson also had a double during the rally and nearly added a three-run home run, but a strong north wind held up a ball she had just crushed just enough to allow it to be caught by an outfielder to end the inning.
Only one other Division II team has scored more runs in a game this season than OC's 20 – Northwest Nazarene (Idaho), which beat Dominican (Calif.) 21-5 on Jan. 31 in the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas.
Crandall (4-0) settled down and didn't allow any more runs before giving way to Dean in the fifth.
The Eagles will play five more home games on the second weekend of the Edmond Regional Festival, starting contests against Chadron State (Neb.) and Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Friday.
