Softball | 4/7/2019 4:57:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Bethany, Okla. - The Oklahoma Panhandle State University softball team combined a dominating day by junior pitcher
Kaylor Battiest with a pair of home runs from sophomore
Kayli Grove, to lead the team to a Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader sweep at Southwestern Christian University. The Aggies (19-15, 10-12 SAC) took down the Eagles (7-19, 3-13 SAC) by scores of 3-0 and 7-6 at the SCU Softball Field.
In game one, the Aggies had ample chances to score early. In the first, OPSU left the bases loaded and had runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth frames without producing a run, including a tag at the plate in that fourth inning. A total of eight runners were left on base through the first four innings.
But in the top of the fifth, Panhandle State broke through in a big way.
Brittany Thomas reached on a leadoff walk. That brought up
Jaylinn Reyes, who promptly smacked a 1-1 pitch well over the left field fence for her third home run of the season.
With the score 2-0, the very next hitter,
Kayli Grove, grooved a 2-1 offering to left to give the Aggies back-to-back homers and a 3-0 advantage. The roundtripper was Grove's first home run of the season.
Meanwhile, Aggies' starter
Kaylor Battiest was dominating in the circle. Battiest allowed just one hit and that was a bunt single on the very first pitch of the game by Battiest. Other than that, the Eagles' bats were silenced by Battiest, who struck out 11 and walked three. She faced just three batters over the minimum in picking up her team-leading tenth win (10-7) of the season.
The 11 "K's" was also Battiest's second-highest total of 2019 (she had 12 against Mid-America Christian last week).
Grove did not wait long to chalk up longball No. 2 on the season. In the top of the first in game two,
Jewell Lee walked to open the game and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly by Reyes. That brought Grove to the plate and, on a 1-1 pitch, she walloped a shot to centerfield that made it 3-0. OPSU also added a run on an Eagles' error to lead 4-0.
Southwestern Christian got a pair of runs back in their half of the first. But in the top of the second,
Chrislyn Dovers was hit by a pitch to open the inning and went to second on Lee's ground out.
Karah Ortiz then slapped a single to the gap in right-center, allowing Dovers to come over with the Aggies' fifth run of the game.
In the Panhandle third,
Brissa Rivera drew a four-pitch walk to open the frame, was sacrificed to second and took third on a wild pitch.
Haley Neal then drew a walk and advanced to second on another wild pitch, putting a pair of Aggies in scoring position. Rivera came home on a fielder's choice by Dovers, as Neal was tagged out, to make it 6-2. Lee walked and Ortiz was safe on a fielder's choice to load the bases for Reyes. Ortiz induced a four-pitch walk from the Eagles' Katlyn Harris to force home Dovers and leave the sacks full for Grove, who grounded out to end the inning.
The Eagles added three of their own in the bottom of the third to make it 7-5 and then pulled to within a single run by adding another in the fifth, 7-6. OPSU missed a golden opportunity to add some separation in their final two at-bats, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and stranding a runner at second in the seventh.
Battiest came on in the fifth to restore order and then shutout the Eagles the rest of the way, including striking out the side in the seventh to earn her Sooner Athletic Conference - and NAIA-leading - seventh save of the season. Battiest struck out five more SCU players in game two, giving her 16 "K's" in the doubleheader and pushing her into triple digits – 111 - in total strikeouts for the season.
Grove was 2-for-4 with two RBI, thanks to her home run. Ortiz went 1-4 with a run scored and a walk to her credit. Reyes was officially 0-1, but earned two RBI, as well.
