by CHICKASHA – The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma grabbed big wins on opening day of the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament Thursday evening at Firelake Softball Complex in Shawnee.
The Drovers (40-7) took care of seventh-seeded Southwestern Christian with a 6-1 final after scoring all their runs in two innings and then shutout the sixth-seeded Texas Wesleyan Rams 6-0 in the second game.
USAO has just three other seasons with 40 or more recorded wins, three consecutive seasons in the mid-2000s.
With the wins, the Drovers go on to face (9) Saint Gregory’s, the conference’s third seed, on Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. The Cavaliers also won both their games on Thursday. The winner of Friday’s game will advance to the SAC Championship on Saturday afternoon.
In game one facing Southwestern Christian, the Drover offense was slow to start, leaving one runer on base without scoring in the first three innings and then failed to get a Drover on base in the next two.
The Lady Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the fourth off an error and it wasn’t until the fifth inning that the Drovers took the game over.
First, Kayla Adams, who went a perfect 2-for-2 in the game, scored when McKenna Eubank hit a fielder’s choice. Before the play ended, Ciara Kuestersteffen scored on a wild throw by SCU’s third baseman and Eubank reached third.
Kaylin Taylor bunted Eubank home for the Drovers’ third run of the inning. Taylor advanced to second on a single by Dani Warren, and then Taylor stole third. To complete her time on the bases, Taylor stole home on a double steal play with Warren.
Taylor’s run was the final one of the fifth inning. In the sixth, Shania Beck singled to center field and Hannah Neill went to in pinch run for her. When Adams got back to the plate, she hit a two-run homer for the 6-1 final.
Summer Leitka (Seminole Nation of Oklahoma) threw the complete game and struck out 13 batters while giving up just two hits. SCU’s only run of the game was unearned.
It didn’t take the Drovers more than one inning to warm up in the second game as USAO claimed four runs against the Lady Rams in the bottom of the second.
With two runners on base, Adams hit a single to score Courtney Capps from second. Then, Sevie Carelsingled past the third baseman to score Neill, who was pinch running for Beck.
A fielder’s choice by Eubank scored Adams and a few plays later, Eubank returned home on a wild throw.
In the fourth inning, the Drovers added another run as Mikeala Bray scored on RBI single by Taylor. Bray was pinch running for Carel, who went 2-for-3 in the game.
Adams hit her second homer of the day in the fifth inning to add one final run to the Drovers’ tally. On the day as a whole, Adams went 4-for-5 with two homers, four runs scored and four runs batted in.
Leitka (28-3)threw seven strikeouts in her 13th shutout of the season and her 23rd complete game. She is one win away from tying the school record for most wins in a season at 29.
