SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist softball team will open conference play on Sunday, Feb. 27, against Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia.
OBU will begin the series with a doubleheader on Sunday, starting at 1:00 p.m., then a single game on Monday at noon. All games will be played at Sully Anderson Field on the campus of Ouachita Baptist University.
Oklahoma Baptist is coming off a 2-2 weekend at the Edmond Regional Festival, drawing two wins against Northeastern State and Fort Hays State.
The Bison scored early and often as they outlasted the Riverhawks 9-7 last Friday. Jocee Sparks' two home run day highlighted the victory, as the senior drove in six after a 3-4 showing at the plate.
In the second win against Fort Hays State, Sparks' bat rang true again. She went yard for the third time in three games, igniting OBU's scoring with a two-run shot over left-field. Then, Samantha Campos and Asia Henry plated three in the third inning to complete the 5-0 shutout of FHSU.
Pitcher Kayleigh Jones struck out seven and allowed two runs through 7.0 innings of work against the Tigers. This season, Jones totals a GAC-best 67 strikeouts, which is eighth in Division II. Additionally, she leads the league in batters struck out looking (23) and opposing batting average (.175). Senior Aspen Younce is not far behind on the conference charts at No. 4 with 37 strikeouts thus far. Younce suffered her first loss of the season against nationally-ranked Oklahoma Christian, bringing her season record to a team-best 4-1.
From the plate, Sparks leads the team with 10 RBIs and is slugging .700. She has three home runs, all recorded last week, to lead the squad. Catcher Samantha Campos is batting .286, the highest on the team, and ranks second in RBIs (7).
Oklahoma Baptist leads the GAC in strikeouts (106) and has the fourth-best team ERA at 3.50. Defensively, the Bison have been nearly perfect as their .977 fielding percentage ranks first in the conference and 21st in Division II, along with the least amount of errors (7) in the league.
Scouting the Tigers
Ouachita Baptist enters Sunday with a 4-9 record, the eighth-best overall mark in the GAC. The Tigers are coming off a 2-1 showing at the Ouachita-HSU Tournament last week, earning wins over Midwestern State and Christian Brothers.
OUA ranks near the bottom in almost every statistical category in the conference, including a .197 batting average that is next to last. However, the Tigers have been efficient in the circle, holding a team ERA of 3.70.
Senior Madison Miller leads the pitchers with a 1.36 ERA in 36.0 innings of action. Miller ranks second in the conference in earned run avg. and sixth for strikeouts (33).
At the plate, senior Callie Jourdan leads the Tigers with .321 batting avg. in 28 at-bats. In nine appearances, Hope Waid is the squad's leader in hits with 11, while Jessalyn Ahrens totals the most RBIs (5).
