OKLAHOMA CITY (May 1, 2021) – It was a good news, bad news sort of day for Oklahoma Christian's softball team on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles – sporting a No. 6 national ranking, the best in program history – saw their school-record 16-game winning streak end when in-state rival Cameron beat them 6-1 in the opener at Tom Heath Field. But behind a two-hit complete-game gem by senior pitcher
Bailey Turner, OC rebounded for a 3-1 win in the second game.
With the split, OC (34-6, 24-4 Lone Star Conference) is assured of hosting the LSC tournament later this month, but the Eagles will be locked into second place in the league's final regular-season standings behind No. 3 Texas-Tyler (33-5, 27-1), which swept No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce 1-0, 8-3 on Saturday.
Texas-Tyler, which will visit OC on Tuesday for a doubleheader, is in its final year of transition into NCAA Division II and thus ineligible for the LSC tournament, but the Patriots will be credited with the LSC regular-season title.
Cameron (24-16, 15-13) dominated the first game from start to finish, in good part because of pitcher Jocelyn Bright (6-3), who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and allowed only two hits. Bright would have had a shutout if not for a home run over the left-field wall in the fifth by
Lindsey Stoeckel that pulled OC within 4-1 at the time.
Cameron scored in each of the first three innings against OC ace
Kali Crandall (22-2), who saw her winning streak end at 18 games, the second-longest such run in program history. Breley Webb and Mikayla Richmond delivered RBI singles during the first inning, Brenna Busby hit a solo homer in the second and Kylie French homered in the third.
It was only the second home loss in 21 home games this season for OC.
Turner (7-3), honored during OC's Senior Day ceremony before the second game, retired the Aggies' first six batters and gave up only a pair of singles to Madyson Marvulli.
Brooklin Bain singled and scored on fellow freshman
Kylie Janzen's sacrifice fly in the first inning off Cameron starter Breley Webb (8-7) and senior
Daelyn Denny hit a solo homer to center field in the second to make it 2-0. The Aggies pulled within 2-1 in the top of the third, when Marvulli scored as Busby reached on an error, but Bain homered to center in the top of the third, chasing Webb.
After the third, Cameron didn't advance a runner past second base as Turner finished her fourth complete game of the season.