SHAWNEE – Two home runs, courtesy of Adi Reese and Jocee Sparks, powered Oklahoma Baptist (14-9, 6-4 GAC) to a 3-1 victory over the East Central Tigers (7-15, 5-6 GAC) on Sunday afternoon in the series finale.
OBU earns their second series win of the season as they took game one of Saturday's doubleheader 3-0. The duo of Reese and Sparks didn't make an entrance until the fourth inning, as the spotlight shined bright on pitcher Kayleigh Jones through the first three.
Jones started the contest with three straight strikeouts, retiring the Tigers quickly. Then, the Bison defense held their own the next time ECU came to bat before Jones struck out two more in the third.
The Tigers finally broke the game's seal with a home run at the top of the fourth, but again, Jones stood tall in the circle for a strikeout. Before Jones capped the inning, catcher Samantha Campos caught a runner stealing to second, one of two Tigers she helped put out today.
Reese responded to the score with a solo shot at the bottom of the fourth to tie the game one-all.
In the following two frames, Jones produced two more strikeouts while Campos and Sandoval connected to catch their second victim stealing. The action happened after Jones struck out a batter, producing the contest's only double-play.
With one on base, Jocee Sparks stepped up to bomb one over center-field to bring around Reagan Ford and herself in the sixth.
The OBU defense cemented the win at the top of the seventh, as the infield took care of business with routine outs for the victory.
Ford was the only other Bison to tally a hit as she also charted a run.
Jones pitched a complete game to earn her ninth win of the season in the circle. She struck out 10 batters for a second straight time this weekend and surrendered one run to the Tigers.
Oklahoma Baptist will have one day of rest before beginning a jam-packed week of softball featuring seven games. On Tuesday, the Bison will kick off the week at Newman in Wichita, Kansas. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m.
