EDMOND, Okla. - For the seventh consecutive year, No. 22 Oklahoma Christian softball will play in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional as it seeks a third straight trip to the regional final. Beginning that journey is two-time defending national champion No. 18 UT Tyler from the Assembly Athletic Complex in Denver, Colo., Thursday, May 14 at 2:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. CT.

EAGLE OUTLOOK (39-14, 30-10 LSC)
Oklahoma Christian enters regional postseason play following its most regular season wins in the NCAA Division II era. In its first postseason contest of 2026, the Eagles were upended by eventual LSC Tournament Runner-Up Texas A&M-Kingsville in the quarterfinals, 6-1. Sydnee Seat led the OC offense with two doubles and a run scored. Unfortunately for the maroon-and-gray, Seat accounted for 33.3 percent of Oklahoma Christian's six total hits.

The Eagles have seen fewer than 10 hits in each of their last six games, which is the longest such stretch of the season, including three games of six or fewer base-knocks. Despite the recent offensive struggles, OC as a team is still hitting .343, which ranks second in the Lone Star Conference - fourth in the region - and is currently the second highest for a single season in program history (.350, 2020*)

Leading the bats for OC is First Team All-Conference shortstop Kallie Rupp, who is hitting .392 with 65 hits and 50 RBI, becoming the first Eagle since 2014 with a 60-50 season. Fellow First Team honoree second baseman Kiley Brewster enters postseason play with the most single-season hits (73) in Oklahoma Christian's NCAA Division II era (since 2014).

Oklahoma Christian continues to own the best pitching staff in the conference and the second-best in the region with a 2.75 ERA, led by First Team All-Conference hurlers Ella Resendiz (2.25) and Jill Dickson (2.30), who is second in program history with 665 career strikeouts. Resendiz (13-0), who also was named to the LSC All-Freshman team, is on pace to have the best winning percentage on a minimum of 10 decisions in the school's history.

Thursday will be the third meeting this season between No. 22 Oklahoma Christian and No. 18 UT Tyler. The Eagles took both meetings on Tyler's home field less than a month ago, snapping OC's 17-game losing streak in the all-time series. The Eagles combined for 23 hits between the two games, including a 15-hit game two, which the maroon-and-gray won, 7-5. Oklahoma Christian has never beaten the Patriots in the postseason, with Thursday being the fifth such meeting. 

SCOUTING UT TYLER (42-12, 33-7 LSC)
UT Tyler enters regional play with a heralded postseason track record, making the NCAA Division II College World Series every year since becoming a full DII member (since 2022). Now under first-year head coach Jason Miller, after starting the year 3-4, UTT finished the season as one of the country's hottest teams with a 38-7 record over the final 45 regular season contests.

The Patriots set right next to Oklahoma Christian in team batting and team ERA, holding a .337 batting average compared to OC's .343 and boasting a 2.74 team ERA to the Eagles' 2.75. Led in the circle by Second Team All-Conference pitcher Kearston Gooch with a staff-best 2.17 ERA, UTT's three starting hurlers have a 3.02 ERA or better.

A pair of First Team All-Conference honorees lead Tyler at the plate in freshman utility player Megan Lau and senior catcher Taryn Barney. Lau sits fourth in the LSC with a .420 batting average while Barney, who was also named the league's Academic Player of the Year, is hitting .378 while slugging a team-best .733 with 13 doubles, 11 home runs and one triple.