Lady Eagles feel the pressure to perform

Escaping floods of rain and dreary weather at home, the Lady Eagles softball team trekked to Odessa, Texas to play the University of Texas-Permian Basin.

The first two games of the series took place Saturday, April 6.

Similar to previous games this season, the Lady Eagles struggled in their first game and surged back in the second.

Oklahoma Christian University’s junior Martha Thomas hit a homerun in the first inning, scoring sophomore Monique Elliot. The homerun pushed the only two runs the Lady Eagles would post for the first game.

Permian Basin put up four runs in the fourth inning, in addition to a single run in the first. The Falcons shut out the Lady Eagles for the remainder of the game. After no response from Oklahoma Christian, Permian Basin took the game 5-2.

Senior Michelle Miller, junior Lauren Chatigny and sophomore Kendra Pierce each added one hit for the Lady Eagles.

Senior Lindsy Moore started on the mound for the first game against the Falcons, and allowed five hits and four runs. Sophomore Krystal Rodriguez came in as relief and closed the game, allowing four hits and one run.

The second game showed a complete turnaround in the Lady Eagles. Oklahoma Christian ended the second game in six innings with a run-rule, 17-3.

The Lady Eagles woke up their bats in the third inning and continued to boost their lead in the sixth, scoring 10 runs in one inning.

Oklahoma Christian ended the game with a total of 16 hits.

Chatigny, Elliot, Pierce and sophomore Courtney Starr led the Lady Eagles with three hits each. Thomas recorded two hits and juniors Kala Ratliff and Lauren Pittman each had one.

Of those hits, Thomas added her second homerun of the day and Pittman recorded her first homerun on the season. Pittman and Starr recorded four RBIs each.

Sophomore Taylor Mosher pitched the six-inning game, allowing 10 hits and three runs. She also recorded four strikeouts for the day.

On Sunday, the Lady Eagles faced the Falcons for the last time, but came up short again.

Permian Basin consistently scored runs almost every inning, and Oklahoma Christian only pushed one run across the plate. The final score of the last game of the series favored the Falcons, 6-1.

Chatigny and Elliot led the team with two hits each and Pierce, Ratliff, Pittman and junior Sarah Peoples each added one.

Mosher pitched the majority of the game and allowed eight hits and six runs. Rodriguez finished up the final inning and did not allow any hits or runs.

“It’s always hard to take a loss, especially when twelve runners were left on base in four innings,” assistant coach Jessica Ruckman said. “However, the girls learned how important it is to execute at the plate when runners are on base in order to score runs. I also think we learned that just because a team is ranked lower than us does not mean we should take them lightly.”

The next series pitted Oklahoma Christian against their rival, Southern Nazarene University. The Lady Eagles faced the Crimson Storm a few weeks ago and managed to get another split out of the second series.

In the first game, the Crimson Storm got off to a quick start. Southern Nazarene recorded three homeruns within the first three innings, giving them an early 7-0 lead. As the game progressed, Oklahoma Christian only managed to push across two runs. The Crimson Storm blew past the Lady Eagles 10-2.

“We really need to focus on hitting more consecutive base hits,” Miller said.

Thomas led the team at the plate with three hits. Chatigny, Elliot and Pierce added one hit apiece.

Mosher started the game and allowed six hits and seven runs. Rodriguez came in for relief and allowed four hits and three runs.

“The first game was tough because we couldn’t string together the hits we needed,” Ratliff said. “Also, the pitchers had a tough time against their lineup. They hit every kind of pitch we threw, and they hit them very well. You have to give credit to their lineup for being able to perform the first game. We always seem to have trouble against their No. 1 pitcher, so it’s always a tough first game for us.”

In the second game, the Lady Eagles pushed past another slow start to earn a win from the series. Oklahoma Christian put up four runs in the seventh inning and finished the game 5-0.

“We adjusted to the pitcher very well and attacked early in the count, which helped us push runs across the board,” junior Krista Martony said. “Lindsy also pitched an amazing shutout game with a solid defense behind her.

Ratliff led the Lady Eagles at the plate with two hits, and Chatigny, Elliot, Pierce, Thomas, Starr, Pittman and Peoples each had one.

Moore pitched the entire game and allowed only two hits.

“Each game we have left is incredibly important in order to reach our goal of nationals this year,” Ruckman said.

The next game for Oklahoma Christian matches them up against No. 1-ranked conference foe St. Mary’s University. Tomorrow, Oklahoma Christian will celebrate Senior Day at the Edmond North High School softball field.