Goodwell, Okla. – No one will ever accuse the Oklahoma Panhandle State University softball team of not having a flair for the dramatic. Needing one more victory to clinch a berth in the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament, the Aggies (25-17, 16-14 SAC), swept Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) 6-5 in extra innings and then booked a 3-2 come-from-behind win at Aggie Softball Field.
"It was great to get the two wins today," OPSU Head Coach
Meghan Mulcahy said. "I hope that we can keep this going throughout the rest of the year. I really proud of the focus and determination the team showed up with today."
In game one, SAGU's Casey Waterman and Panhandle State's
Kaylor Battiest dueled for eight innings, to earn complete game decisions. Waterman allowed six runs, only three earned, and struck out five. Battiest gave up just one earned run and struck out eight Lions, earning her team-leading 13th (13-9) win.
In the bottom of the third, Panhandle pushed across three runs with two outs. After the first two Aggies were retired, three consecutive singles by
Jewell Lee,
Karah Ortiz and
Brittany Thomas resulted in OPSU's first run. Then
Jaylinn Reyes drilled a single to left plating Ortiz and, when the ball was misplayed, Thomas also trotted home to make it 3-0. But SAGU knotted the game at 3-3 with a rally of their own in the fourth.
The Aggies had an opportunity to end the game in regulation, thanks to an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth by
Haley Neal that made it 4-3. But the Lions matched that in the top of the seventh to send the game to an eighth inning and the International Tie-Breaker.
With a runner placed on second base to start the extra frame, SAGU was able to score to lead 5-4 as the Aggies came up.
Abby Gregory was placed on second base for OPSU's turn and
Jena Konieczka reached on an error. Neal laid down a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. A grounder to short – and subsequent error – allowed Gregory to score the tying run.
Then, with two out, Lee came to the plate. The Aggies' all-American delivered a single to left that brought home Konieczka with the walk-off winner, 6-5.
Lee and Ortiz, batting Nos. 1 and 2 in the order, had seven of OPSU's 12 hits between them. Lee was 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Ortiz was 3-for-3.
In game two, SAGU got to Panhandle State senior
Lindsay Jacobs for a pair of runs in the first inning. That proved to be the sum total of the offense from either team until the bottom of the sixth.
Down to their final six outs and trailing 2-0, Panhandle mounted its rally. Konieczka led off with a single to center and
Kayli Grove walked. After a strikeout, Jacobs stepped to the plate with a chance to help her own cause.
And help it she did. Jacobs slammed a double to left that brought home Konieczka, with Grove advancing to third. OPSU scored the tying run on an error at shortstop, with Grove coming across to make it 2-2.
Once again Lee came up with a chance to give her team a chance for a win. Lee delivered once again with a single that brought home Chrisltyn Dovers with the go-ahead run, 3-2, heading into the seventh. Battiest came on to pitch for Panhandle State in seventh and retired the Lions in order to earn her NAIA nation-leading 10th save of the season.
Jacobs improved to 11-5 on the year, striking out five SAGU batters in her 6.0 innings of work. Battiest added one "K" in her inning of work.
Neal and Jacobs both went 2-for-3 from the dish to lead OPSU's offense.
The teams will close out their four-game series on Saturday, with a doubleheader at 12 p.m.
