A weekend tournament in San Antonio, Texas proved fruitful for the Oklahoma Christian University women’s softball team, winning four out of five games.
Sophomore Haley Squire said the weekend tournament was a good indication of the team’s talent as well as the areas that need improvement.
“We went into this weekend knowing all of the teams were going to be good,” Squire said. “There are many things our team as a whole needs to work on, but with it being the beginning of the season and testing out the waters, I thought we did an amazing job and played great as a team.”
The Lady Eagles played two games on Feb. 20, beginning with Texas Woman’s University at 10 a.m.
Oklahoma Christian scored a run in both of the first two innings, unanswered by TWU, establishing a 2-0 lead. The Lady Eagles shut out the Pioneers for the entire game, and one more run from a single by Squier that advanced Kelsie Finch across the plate that sealed a final score of 3-0.
The Lady Eagles recorded their second shutout of the day against Texas A&M University-Commerce from the pitching efforts of Taylor Mosher and Shea Coats. After a scoreless game in the first two innings, Oklahoma Christian scored two runs consecutively in the third and fourth innings for a 4-0 lead that stood for the remainder of the game.
According to Squire, it was the Lady Eagles’ gloves, not bats, that earned wins during the weekend.
“Defense was the key element for sure,” Squire said. “All of our opponents had powerful and smart hitters, and our defense as a whole did a really good job of keeping the ball in front and staying at a low number of errors.”
In the first game on Saturday, Oklahoma Christian faced Tarleton State University. A balanced scoring spread by the TexAnns over the first, fourth and fifth innings provided seven runs for Tarleton State, but an explosive six-run second inning by the Lady Eagles kept the TexAnns at bay. Oklahoma Christian scored twice more in the sixth inning to recover from a 7-6 Tarleton lead and record an 8-7 win.
A rematch against Texas Woman’s delivered the Lady Eagles’ only loss of the weekend in their second game on Saturday. TWU scored two runs in both the first and third innings, while Oklahoma Christian remained scoreless until the fifth inning, when three runs pulled the Lady Eagles up to trail the Pioneers 4-3. Oklahoma Christian scored another run in the top of the sixth to tie the game 4-4, but TWU answered quickly in the bottom of the sixth with one more run. The Lady Eagles failed to score in the seventh inning, ceding the game to TWU.
Oklahoma Christian finished the weekend with a win on Sunday against the University of Central Oklahoma. Neither teamed scored in the first four innings, but the Lady Eagles put the only run of the game on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. UCO failed to answer in the sixth or seventh innings, sealing a 1-0 win for Oklahoma Christian – its fourth win of the tournament.
Sunday was Coats’ third shutout game of the season. She has pitched 25 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run.
Squire said despite a rewarding weekend in San Antonio, the delayed travel home due to inclement weather was disappointing.
“To be honest we are all exhausted and beat up after this weekend,” Squire said. “The weather kept us from getting home [Sunday night] so we will not be getting back until Monday afternoon.”
The Lady Eagles have a doubleheader at Midwestern State University on Tuesday.
Taking a break before the game on Tuesday will be important to ensure the team is healthy, Squire said.
“I think rest and mental preparation is huge for our team right now, and definitely not getting burned out too early in the season” Squire said. “We will have a light practice, and hopefully keep the momentum from this weekend going into the games against Midwestern.”
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