by CHICKASHA – Opening Sooner Athletic Conference with a bang, the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (17-4, 2-0) stampeded the No. 21 Oklahoma Baptist Lady Bison (4-11, 0-2) on Wednesday afternoon in the Drovers’ home opener.
In game one, the Drovers grabbed the 4-1 advantage while Summer Leitka (12-1) threw her 10th complete game. In all, she struck out 11 batters and gave up three hits in the entire seven innings.
USAO notched the first run in the first inning when Shania Beck hit a sacrifice fly to score Dani Warren.
In the second inning, another sacrifice fly, this time by Kaylin Taylor, scored Drover Ciara Kuestersteffen.
The final two runs came in in the fifth inning as Taylor scored on a wild pitch after bunting to first and advancing the bases on the next few plays. Continuing with the theme, the fourth run was a result of another sacrifice by Beck. Warren scored on the play.
OBU put a run on the board in the sixth to avoid the shutout, but they were not quite so lucky in the second game as USAO dominated the Bison with a 10-0 five-inning, run-rule game.
In game two, all three Drover pitchers saw time in the circle for a combined no-hitter. Leitka (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma) started, throwing two innings and a single strikeout before being relieved by Tate Landmark (3-1).
Landmark was the pitcher of record by throwing the next two innings, facing six batters. Jaci Booker finished the game and saw just three batters.
The majority of USAO’s runs came in the third inning as they scored seven after going all the way through the lineup.
Courtney Capps went 2-for-2 in the game while scoring twice. Warren also recorded two more runs in the second half of the doubleheader.
In the fourth, Beck hit a two-RBI bomb out to left field to grab the two final runs. She went 3-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs in the game.
The game originally was scheduled to be Tuesday evening at OBU, but the teams switched home games due to scheduling conflicts. – See more at: http://usao.edu/sports/softball/news/drovers-rout-no-21-lady-bison#sthash.iGP8gNTv.dpuf
