Bison Take Two from Southwestern in GAC Play

SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist softball team earned a pair of wins over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon, coming from behind to take a 5-4 win in game one before riding the arm of Kayleigh Jones in game two to earn a 4-0 victory.

The Bison will look to close the series with a sweep tomorrow afternoon.

It was not an ideal start for OBU as they dug themselves a 3-0 hole in the first inning as Aspen Younce came out just a tick off in the early going. Younce would settle in and get rolling in the later innings to keep the Bulldogs at bay.

OBU's rally began in the second inning as McKenna Anderson drove in a run on a fielder's choice before the Bison took advantage of a Bulldog error to cut it down to 3-2 after two complete.

The score would remain that way as Younce began to find her groove in the circle.

Entering the bottom of the fourth, OBU took a 4-3 lead on four straight singles as Mia Moddelmog led the inning off with a single and swiped second before Jocee Sparks tied the game with an RBI single to even the game.

After a single from Shelby Savage put runners on the corners, Sheyanne Sandoval drove them home with an RBI single up the middle to take the lead for the first time. SWOSU limited the damage to two runs and ended the fourth trailing by one.

The Bulldogs would get a run back in the sixth, but with two outs in the bottom half, Kylie Kawamura legged out an infield single to score Anderson and retake the lead at 5-4.

Younce would power through the seventh with two strikeouts to put SWOSU down in order and earn the win. Younce (W, 3-1) went seven complete, allowing four runs on eight hits to go with eight strikeouts and only one walk. 

Emily Richardson finished 2-for-3 on the day, while Sparks was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. Anderson added a 1-for-3 day with an RBI and run scored, while Kawamura and Sandoval were each 1-for-4 with an RBI.

In the second game, it was the arm of Jones that led OBU to capture the series win with one game to play. Jones pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only four hits and striking out seven to earn her fourth win of the season.

OBU got a run in the first despite a double play and tacked on two more in the second on RBIs from Sparks and Shelby Savage to lead 3-0. The Bison added another run in the fifth on an RBI double from Richardson that just narrowly missed getting out of the ballpark.

It was all Jones needed as she cruised to the victory, keeping the SWOSU offense off balance throughout the game.

Sparks finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Anderson was 2-for-3. Richardson added a 1-for-3 day with a double and an RBI, while Asia Henry was also 1-for-3 with a double.

The Bison moved to 7-3 on the year and 3-2 in the GAC. OBU will look to complete the sweep tomorrow afternoon with a 2 p.m. start time.