OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 22, 2021) – Trailing for the first time this softball season, No. 12-ranked Oklahoma Christian didn't blink on Monday against Pittsburg State (Kan.) at Tom Heath Field.
Keyed by big run-scoring doubles by
Brie Dunckel and
Karrah Dean, OC rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to roll past the Gorillas 10-4, capping a day in which the Eagles also beat Fort Hays State (Kan.) 6-1 in the Edmond Regional Festival.
OC (6-0) swept its four games over two days in the festival and has one more game – on Tuesday against Newman (Kan.) – before leaving for Las Vegas, where they'll have an early season showdown in a three-game series against No. 11 Concordia-Irvine (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday.
Pittsburg State (1-3) jumped on OC starter
Bailey Turner (1-0) for six hits and four runs in the first two innings, but she settled down after that and allowed the Gorillas only two more hits over her five innings of work.
Meanwhile, her teammates had her back. With two outs in the bottom of the second,
Whitney Walde and
Tristyn Hamilton hit consecutive doubles and
Daelyn Denny was hit by a pitch before Dunckel laced a two-run double to left-centerfield to pull the Eagles within 4-3.
In the third,
Katelyn Dunckel led off with a single before Dean's double to right-centerfield tied the game. That started what would become a five-run outburst – the fourth time this season the Eagles have scored five or more runs in an inning – that included a successful double steal, with Hamilton stealing second base and Walde stealing home.
Madison Morris (0-1), the second of four pitchers for Pittsburg State, took the loss.
In the Eagles' first game of the day,
Brie Dunckel and freshman
Kylie Janzen led off with consecutive doubles against Fort Hays State starter Michaelanne Nelson (1-4) during a two-run first inning and OC never looked back against the Tigers.
Walde and
Hunter Hays pulled off a double steal during a two-run fourth inning and OC tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a triple to right field by Janzen.
OC pitcher
Kali Crandall (4-0) allowed six hits and struck out five in six innings of work to earn the win over Fort Hays State (2-6).