OKLAHOMA CITY (April 10, 2022) – Grace Anderson threw a lot of no-hitters for Tishomingo High School – 23 to be exact – so it seemed like only a matter of time before she pitched one for Oklahoma Christian at the collegiate level. That day came Sunday against Western New Mexico.

The freshman right-hander dominated the Mustangs, retiring all 15 batters she faced as No. 20-ranked OC breezed to a 13-0, five-inning win in the second game of a softball doubleheader at Tom Heath Field. It was the first no-hitter thrown by an OC pitcher in more than three seasons.

Anderson wasn't the only star pitcher on Sunday for OC, however. On her Senior Day, Lindsey Stoeckel recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts and retired the final 14 Western New Mexico batters in a 3-1 win that wasn't secure until Kylie Janzen's two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

That's right – OC pitching retired 29 straight batters and didn't allow a hit after the third inning of the first game. It's a big reason OC (32-8, 20-4 Lone Star Conference) is tied atop the standings in NCAA Division II's toughest league with No. 1-ranked Texas-Tyler. The two wins over Western New Mexico (5-33, 2-22) extended the Eagles' winning streak to 18 games, breaking the school record of 16 set last season.

The Eagles' current streak is the second-longest in Division II, trailing only Colorado Christian, which has won 22 straight. Colorado Christian is coached by Larry Hays, the grandfather of current OC player Hampton Hays and assistant coach Hunter Hays.

Anderson (11-2) never really came close to allowing a hit and mostly relied on her defense, only recording two strikeouts. The close as the Mustangs came to having a baserunner were a couple of close defensive plays.

In the fourth inning, shortstop Chloe Woodward's throw after fielding a grounder by WNMU's Breeanna Simmons was a bit wide of the first-base bag but Stoeckel – who played at first in the second game – expertly snagged the throw and tagged Simmons a step before Simmons reached the bag. With two outs in the fifth, Janae Ruiz hit a fly ball to short left field that popped off Hannah Pate's glove before Pate recovered to grab the loose ball and record the final out.

It was the 17th no-hitter in OC's softball history, which began with the 1995 season. OC's most recent no-hitter before Sunday came on Feb. 14, 2019, when Madison Hagood threw one against Southwestern Oklahoma State.

It's quite possible Anderson's perfect game might have been an OC first. It's not known if the five no-hitters thrown between 1998 and 2002 for the Eagles were perfect games, but none of the 11 thrown between 2006 and 2019 were.

Janzen and Aaliyah Brown each had three RBIs for OC in the game as the Eagles scored in all four of their at-bats. Janzen hit two sacrifice flies before a run-scoring double during a seven-run fourth inning for OC. Brown's RBIs came during the fourth on a bases-loaded double. Western New Mexico starter Julia Vega (0-11) took the pitching loss.

In the opener, Western New Mexico's second batter of the game, Bryana Munoz, launched a solo home run over the left-field fence. Whitney Walde walked with two outs and scored on a single to right-center field by senior Abi LaValley in the bottom of the first to tie the game.

OC wasted prime opportunities to score more runs in the first (stranding two runners in scoring position) and in the fourth, when Janzen tripled with one out but never moved off third base. Western New Mexico had a pair of one-out singles in the third inning but Stoeckel (8-0) struck out Munoz and Simmons to end the threat and never allowed another baserunner.

Stoeckel, a right-hander from Moore, walked no one and struck out five straight batters in one stretch. Her 12 strikeouts were the third-highest total recorded in a game this season by a LSC pitcher.

As good as Stoeckel was, Western New Mexico's Aryana Munoz (3-14) kept the Mustangs in the game until the sixth inning, when Brown doubled down the left-field line with one out. Janzen – like Stoeckel, a Southmoore High School product – followed with a two-out blast to straightaway center field to put the Eagles up 3-1.

Stoeckel recorded her final two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.

The Eagles will host nonconference foe Northwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday for a doubleheader.

GAME 1 STATISTICS

GAME 2 STATISTICS