WEATHERFORD, Okla. – After dominating Oklahoma Baptist on Tuesday night in Shawnee, Southern Nazarene's softball team traveled the other direction on I-40 Sunday, as they battled Southwestern Oklahoma State. SNU fell just short in the first game of the series Sunday afternoon 8-6 to SWOSU.
Despite outhitting the Bulldogs (3-6, 3-3 GAC) in the contest, the Crimson Storm (8-9, 6-3 GAC) left seven runners on base which proved to be the difference maker down the stretch. SWOSU's hot bats in the second inning was another factor on Sunday as the monster 6-run burst pushed them over the edge.
Brooklyn Sparkman got the start in the circle for SNU as she senior took her fifth loss of the season. She tossed 6.0 innings and struck out seven batters on five earned runs and five hits.
Hannah Sattler and Madi Arnold also saw action in the opener as well.
Caitlyn Curlee led the way at the plate for Southern Nazarene as the senior went 1-for-2 with a double and two runs batted in.
Skye Ah Yat and
Brooklyn Sparkman both recorded multiple hits for SNU as Ah Yat finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Natalie Jones went 1-for-4 at the dish with one RBI and one run scored while
Mahina Sauer drove in a run on her one hit and also scored a run as well.
Brooklyn Sullivan finished 1-for-3 at the plate with a team-high two runs scored while
Hailie Fellers went 1-for-4 with a run scored for SNU.
Southwestern Oklahoma State wasted no time at all in taking the early lead as they pushed one across in the bottom of the first inning. Southern Nazarene's bats came alive in the top of the second when Sullivan reached on a fielding error that scored Fellers and
Sydney Sundbye to give SNU the 2-1 lead. Later in the inning, Jones' single up the middle scored Sullivan to make it 3-1 before Ah Yat singled to score Jones to push the Storm advantage to 4-1.
The Bulldogs bats went crazy in the bottom of the second as they used a triple and two doubles to blow the game open. SWOSU pushed six runs across the plate as they snatched the lead back at 7-4 by inning's end. The Dawgs added one more run in the bottom of the third to take their largest lead of the game at 8-4 before Curlee doubled in the top of the fourth to score Sauer and Sullivan to make it 8-6.
SNU had chances in the final three innings to further cut into the Bulldog lead, but the SWOSU defense held strong and didn't allow any more runs in the final three frames to secure the victory.
Southern Nazarene will try and get back on track tomorrow for the final two games of the series against Southwestern Oklahoma State. First pitch of the doubleheader in Weatherford is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
