by By Dave Beyer, opsu aggies
HOBBS, N.M. – Pitching was the order of the day, as senior Kaylor Battiest (Choctaw/Creek/Cherokee) opened the 2020 season with a no-hitter and freshman teammate Sarah Conley (Lake Orion, Mich.) allowed just two hits in the second game, as the Oklahoma Panhandle State University softball team swept a doubleheader from the University of the Southwest. The Aggies (2-0) topped the Mustangs (0-2) by scores of 12-0 and 8-0 – both games shortened to five innings by the run rule – in the first competition of the season for both squads.
Battiest (1-0), who was OSPU’s top pitcher in 2019 and led the entire NAIA in saves, began 2020 with a dominating effort. Battiest missed out on a perfect game by just a single walk issued to USW, striking out 10.
“Going out there today I was extremely determined to leave the circle with no regrets going into my senior year,” Battiest said post-game. “I still have things to work on, but I am very pleased with the start of the season. Just one walk kept me from a perfect game, but 10 strikeouts made up for it! I couldn’t have done it without my catcher, Haley (Neal).
“I felt humbled to have my team behind me, who believes in me and allows me to be the most confident in the circle each pitch.”
Conley (1-0) was nearly as dominating in her collegiate debut. Conley yielded just a pair of singles to the Mustangs. She struck out six and did not walk a batter in getting the shutout.
Ironically, despite outscoring the Mustangs by a 20-0 margin during the day and holding a 15-2 advantage in hits in the pair of games, the Aggie offense was spread around in both games. No Panhandle player had more than a single hit in either game. But patience at the plate by OPSU paid big dividends as the Aggies milked the Mustangs pitching staff for 16 total walks.
In the opener, Neal (Choctaw, Okla.) not only handled Battiest, but gave her battery mate support at the plate. Neal was 1-for-2, with a triple and three runs batted in. She also scored once.
Caitley Adams (Woodward, Okla.) also went 1-2 in the game, driving in a pair of runs. Kinzie Jones (Norman, Okla.) scored twice and collected a double, driving in one, as well. Jones, Cameron Pryor (Salem, Mo.) and leadoff hitter Abby Gregory (Mooreland, Okla.) each drew two walks.
In the second game, the Aggies had three extra-base hits in support of Conley. Adams had the big game, lacing a triple and amassing three RBI. Junior Kayli Grove (Norman, Okla.) was 1-for-3 and also had a three-bagger to her credit, driving in two runs. Neal (1-2) slapped a double to drive in a run, as well.
The wins were also the first at Panhandle State for first-year OPSU Head Coach Chad Kerr.
“Good start to the season,” Kerr stated. “We received two great pitching performances, had aggressive base running, committed no errors on defense and had a solid day offensively. As a coach, I can’t ask for much else.”
