SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist softball team will take on East Central in the home-opening series of the 2022 season. The teams are scheduled to meet for a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 1 p.m., and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tigers lead the all-time series between the two 5-26, as the Bison snapped a five-game losing streak with a series win last season.
OBU enters Saturday with a 12-8 record, including a 4-3 conference mark. The Bison are coming off a 1-0 loss to Southern Nazarene on Tuesday afternoon. The Bison could not overcome an early Crimson Storm score, as the contest turned into a defensive battle that featured five more hits by the game's end.
Pitcher Kayleigh Jones tallied 11 strikeouts against SNU, bringing her season total to 103. Nationally, she ranks ninth and is No. 1 in the Great American Conference. She holds a 7-5 overall record to go along with her 3.01 ERA. Junior Aspen Younce has also spent a good amount of time in the circle, totaling 56 strikeouts thus far.
Furthermore, the Bison have struck out 169 batters, good for sixth in the Division II.
Freshman Samantha Campos leads OBU in the batter's box, hitting .333 on the year with three homeruns and 13 RBIs. Last weekend, Campos collected two home runs in a single game against Southwestern Oklahoma State, as she ended up with six hits through thre series with the Bulldogs.
Jocee Sparks in close behind at .304, and has brought in a team-best 17 runners. Sparks also ranks No. 1 in home runs (4). Freshman Sammie Greene leads OBU with six stolen bases while Adi Reese ranks first in total runs scored (15).
East Central comes to Shawnee with a 6-13 overall record, including a 4-4 conference mark. The Tigers have lost three of their last five, dropping one against Northwestern Oklahoma State and two against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
ECU has collected two conference series, besting Arkansas Tech 2-1 and Northwestern 2-1.
The Tigers hold a team ERA of 4.87 and have struck out 90 batters. They are led in the circle by Taia Harris, who holds a 1.56 ERA in 36.0 innings of action. Harris' 40 strikeouts rank No. 1 on the team as she has compiled a 2-1 overall record.
Three Tigers are batting over .300, led by Kenzie Lasker's .429 average. Lasker has a team-best 12 RBIs and has hit two triples this season. Gabi Quintanilla is at .421, while Jayna Reid is batting .314. Additionally, Quintanilla leads her squad with seven stolen bases in 15 games played.
