WICHITA FALLS, Texas (March 26, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian's offense busted out on Friday, fueled in good part by an emergent performance by another of the Eagles' growing group of productive freshmen.
Brooklin Bain homered in the first inning of both softball games and No. 16-ranked OC pounced from there, sweeping a doubleheader over Midwestern State (Texas) by scores of 13-0 and 7-2 at Mustangs Park.
OC (21-5, 11-3 Lone Star Conference) remained in a third-place tie with No. 14 Texas A&M-Kingsville in the conference standings, three games behind No. 6 Texas-Tyler, which is ineligible for the LSC tournament. Second-place (and No. 2-ranked) Texas A&M-Commerce split a doubleheader at Lubbock Christian (Texas), allowing OC and TAMUK to pull within two games of the Lions.
Bain, a freshman from Comanche, Okla., hit a one-out solo home run in the first inning off Midwestern State starter Jacey Henry (4-4) and
Brianna Robinson soon followed with a three-run homer as the Eagles built a quick 5-0 lead. Freshman
Whitney Walde's RBI triple made it 6-0 in the second inning.
Freshman
Aaliyah Brown,
Abi LaValley and Bain all hit RBI doubles during a three-run third inning and freshman
Tara Stewart's two-run triple keyed a four-run fourth inning, making it 13-0.
OC pitcher
Kali Crandall allowed only two hits and struck out eight in four innings before giving way to
Lindsey Stoeckel, who pitched a perfect fifth inning to seal the win.
In the second game, Bain's two-run first-inning homer helped stake the Eagles to a 3-0 lead over Midwestern State (11-15, 4-10). Walde also had a pair of RBI hits as OC built a 6-0 advantage against pitcher Addi Hanna (3-5), then added another run-scoring single in the seventh.
Crandall (14-1) entered in relief of starter
Bailey Turner in the fourth inning and went the rest of the way, recording three more strikeouts. She now leads the LSC and is tied for the NCAA Division II lead in pitching wins.
The Eagles will play another LSC doubleheader on Sunday at Texas Woman's before returning home to face league rival Eastern New Mexico next Friday.