EDMOND, Okla. – The Oklahoma Baptist softball team opened play at the Edmond Regional Festival on Friday evening, beating Northeastern State 9-7 (5-4, 0-0 MIAA) and falling to No. 16 Central Oklahoma 5-1 (8-2, 0-0 MIAA).
OBU's bats were hot in game one against Northeastern State, as the Bison piled up seven hits to cross the plate nine times.
Right off the bat, Oklahoma Baptist got on the board. Adi Reese made it to first after being walked to place the first Bison on base.
Sheyanne Sandoval walked up next to single, advancing Reese to second. A full count's final pitch outside the zone walked Sammie Greene to load the bases for OBU.
Then Reese slid across home plate, courtesy of a Riverhawk error, to score the first run for the Bison. Samantha Campos followed the action with a grounder to second to plate Sandoval and conclude OBU's scoring for the inning.
Northeastern responded with a single run at the bottom of the first to draw the tally 2-1 going into the second.
After a scoreless second inning, Jocee Sparks sent a three-run shot over the left-field line, putting the Bison up 5-1. This would start her remarkable day.
Again, the boxscore went scoreless for an entire inning before the Riverhawks woke the action up with three runs in the fourth.
The Bison would answer NSU's subtle run with a big four-run inning. Campos started it with a double to center to plate Gwyn Miller. Then Sparks went yard again with two on base to give OBU a 9-4 advantage.
However, the Riverhawks refused to go away. Northeastern retaliated with three scores in the fifth to make things interesting.
Fortunately, pitcher Kayleigh Jones and company closed the door of opportunity with near-flawless play in the final innings.
Sparks led the Bison with a 3-4 showing at the plate, batting in six and totaling a couple of home runs. Campos tallied two RBI's while three other Bison registered a hit.
Jones earns the save after coming in as relief for 2.1 innings to strikeout one and allow one hit. Aspen Younce ( got the start in the circle, tallying seven strikeouts and allowing four runs through 4.0 innings. Shianne Eddings made a brief appearance, striking out one and facing eight in 0.2 innings of work.
In game two, the excitement cooled off. No one crossed home plate through three innings, highlighted by six strikeouts from Kayleigh Jones.
Finally, the Bronchos broke the seal of the contest with a single into right-center to plate one. Their next score would score via a fielder's choice, while the other came courtesy of a single up the middle.
For a second, OBU struggled to find their rhythm until Emily Smith sent a solo shot over the left-field line.
However, the nationally-ranked Bronchos regained control to tame the Bison momentum and close out the game.
Jones charted 11 strikeouts and allowed five runs in 6.0 innings of action. She'd face 32 batters and throw 159 pitches.
Smith homered to record the only RBI for the Bison, while Samantha Campos and Adi Reese registered a hit apiece.
Oklahoma Baptist will look to Monday to complete their time in the tournament, facing Fort Hays State and Oklahoma Christian. Both games will be played on the campus of OC, starting at 2:15 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.
