SHAWNEE – Fresh off a 5-0 weekend in Mansfield, Texas, Oklahoma Baptist returns to action on Feb. 6-8 at the OC/UCO Invitational in Edmond.
On Friday at UCO's Gerry Pinkston Stadium, the Bison play Fort Lewis College and New Mexico Highlands.
A day later at OC's Lawson Softball Complex at Tom Heath Field, OBU will play Black Hills State (S.D.) and Oklahoma Christian. The invitational will wrap up on Sunday Feb. 8 against Eastern New Mexico at Tom Heath Field.
Here are notes and quick hits about this week's competition.
For the Bison:
OBU is 5-0 for only the sixth time in the history of the program, which dates back to 1977. For retrospect, the first occurrence of 5-0 was 1993. In that season, the Bison started 8-0, which stands as the best start in program history.
OBU's offense was very productive last week. Here are some of their best NCAA marks:
T1st in home runs (8); T21st in RBI (30); T5th with 17 stolen bases; 28th in scoring (7.0)
Through one week, the Bison are the only team in the country with three players with at least two homers.
Greenlee Wells has three while
Haley Hacker and
Abby Laskowski each have two.
Wells' 19 assists from her shortstop position are tied for fourth in D2. She's also tied for third with three homers.
Jaycee Shaffer, the GAC Pitcher of the Week, earned all five wins for the Bison last weekend. Those five victories are tied for the national lead.
Hacker, the GAC Player of the Week, has these national marks: 11th in batting average (.667) and 11th in on-base percentage (.765).
Sophomore
Kaley Cook's seven stolen bases are No. 2 nationally.
Fort Lewis
The Skyhawks went to the Concordia Kickoff Classic last weekend and lost four of five. They were held to one run or less in three of those contests. As a team, they are batting just .198 and struck out 22 times with 25 hits in 126 plate appearances. Izzy Cueva got off to a good start for the Skyhawks, batting .417 last weekend. In the circle, Hailie Mann made three appearances, posted a 1.14 ERA and notched seven strikeouts with four walks. They are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, RMAC.
New Mexico Highlands
The Cowgirls, also members of the RMAC, traveled to Los Lunas, New Mexico for the South Central Regional Challenge. They posted a 2-3 record. Jazmyn Griego posted team-highs in batting average (.357), homers (2) and RBI (13). Also of note, Shaylene Saladin and Jolissa Valdez each tripled twice. Pitching was the issue. Outside of Liliana Vigil German's 1.40 ERA, no NMHU pitcher had an ERA better than 4.20. By the end of the weekend, the Cowgirls had a 7.97 team earned run average.
Black Hills State
The Yellow Jackets hold a 3-3 record after competing in the Minot State Invite in North Dakota. BHSU has two, .400 batters, Caylee Mann and Carly Reyes Mims. They both have nine hits and have driven in a combined 14 runs. Pitching wise, Kaitlyn Geschwill made five appearances, earned two wins and posted a 0.93 ERA. As a staff, BHSU has averaged 6.66 strikeouts per seven innings. That leads the RMAC and is 21st in Division II.
Oklahoma Christian
Members of the Lone Star Conference, OC went down to Florida last weekend and earned four wins, including two against No. 2 (NFCA) Tampa. OC's team ERA of 0.50 is second in the country and its 2.44 strikeout-to-walk ratio is 21st. Individually, Eagles utility player Kadence Brewster leads the team with a .429 average. Teammate Kallie Rupp has a double, a homer and team-high six RBI. In the circle, Jill Dickson is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA. Dickson along with Ella Resendiz each have 10 strikeouts.
Eastern New Mexico
Like OBU, the Greyhounds started their season at the Lone Star Invite. They won twice, including a 10-inning 10-9 win over No. 9 Augustana. Through three games, ENMU ranks 10th in the country with a .987 fielding percentage. Giazza Lopez has a whopping .571 batting average and .727 on-base percentage. Emily Marsh and Seneca Aarstad each have four RBI. In the circle, Marissa Rodriguez leads with a 4.00 ERA. She's struck out eight with just one walk. Collectively, ENMU has a staff ERA of 6.44 and have given up nine extra-base hits.
