FORT WORTH, Texas — Oklahoma Panhandle State softball pitcher Marin Jacobs went the distance and then some Friday, tossing a gem in the series finale versus Texas Wesleyan (20-17, 14-10 SAC), but the Aggies' lineup struggled in 9-0 and 2-1 losses on the road.
 
While the first game Friday went to the hosts in a run-rule, five-inning contest, Gracie Lankford tied the nightcap at 1-1 with a seventh-inning homer before OPSU fell in extra innings, unable to snap its slide.
 
Game 1: A three-run homer got the Rams going in the opening frame, and they never looked back in a lopsided affair.
 
Game 2: Jacobs was excellent, beginning her day with a one-two-three inning against TWU. The right-handed hurler worked around traffic on the bases thereafter, inducing weak contact to get out of jams consistently to keep OPSU afloat.
 
The Rams' lone run before extra innings came in the fourth frame on a two-out, RBI single up the middle. Unfortunately for Panhandle State, its lineup was unable to produce as the Aggies entered the seventh behind, 1-0.
 
Down to its final two outs, Lankford came through with a clutch solo shot to left-center, tying the contest at 1-1. The Aggies then threatened with a single by Haeley Vasquez, a walk to Flora Moreno and another single from Jacobs, but TWU erased the threat, aided by getting an out on the bases.
 
Jacobs and the Aggie defense sent the finale to the eighth inning, when Panhandle State used a sac bunt from Aaliyah Dang-Gutierrez to advance the automatic runner to third with one out. Texas Wesleyan picked off the go-ahead run at third, however, and the home team hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth.
 
The 7.1 innings pitched and one earned run surrendered by Jacobs lowered the Bloomington, Indiana, native's season-long ERA to 3.68. She has allowed one earned run or fewer in seven separate outings in 2026.
 
What's up next: OPSU (5-28, 3-21) is slated to return home to Jim Quimby Field on Friday, April 10, with a doubleheader versus Langston (7-15, 2-14).