EDMOND, Okla.—Southern Nazarene was faced with a tough non-conference matchup on Tuesday evening, taking on nationally ranked No. 4 Central Oklahoma. The Storm kept the game one close and fell by just one run 3-2, but they were defeated 11-1 in six innings in game two. The Storm were without leading hitter Liana Heshiki in both games.
Game 1:
The Crimson Storm struck first in game one with a McKayla Franks RBI single in the third inning, but the Bronchos plated two in the bottom half of the inning and never surrendered the lead.
Brooklyn Sullivan led off the third inning with a single through the left side. A sacrifice bunt moved her to second base and she came around to score when Franks ripped a single up the middle. Franks made her way to third base following an error, but was stranded there.
UCO showed why they are one of the top teams in the country by quickly responding in the bottom of the inning. Tatum Long tied the game on a solo shot to left field and four batters later UCO pulled off a double-steal with runners at the corners as the steal of home allowed them to grab a 2-1 lead. A fourth inning sacrifice fly allowed the Bronchos to tack on one more run, which proved to be the deciding run.
Southern Nazarene was sat down in order in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, but they put together a late rally and had a chance to tie the game in the final inning. Natalie Jones led off the inning with a single, bringing the tying run to the plate. After two quick outs, Brooklyn Sullivan and Hannah Morales notched back-to-back singles, scoring Jones and putting the tying run at second base. Unfortunately for SNU, a flyout ended the rally and gave UCO the 3-2 win in game one.
Sullivan led SNU with 2 hits in the contest. Franks and Morales each notched one RBI.
Katelyn Woodard worked well from the circle in relief. In her two innings of work, she allowed no runs and struck out a pair of UCO hitters.
Game 2:
The Storm once again struck first in game two, but just one run was all they could muster as things began to get out of hand for SNU late in the game.
SNU picked up back-to-back hits to open the game when Kennedy Sherer singled to second base and scored on McKayla Franks' double down the left field line. The offense quickly stalled from there as SNU did not collect another hit in the game.
The Bronchos were held scoreless through the first two innings of the game, but they exploded in the third inning with five runs. UCO benefited from a pair of SNU errors in the inning, but still collected four hits of their own, including a three-run shot that broke a 1-1 tie.
UCO tacked on one run in the fifth inning to take a 6-1 lead. They put together another big inning in the sixth that brought the game to an end one inning early. Holding a 7-1 advantage, the Bronchos blasted a walk-off grand slam to finish the game 11-1 in six innings.
Southern Nazarene will look to bounce back this weekend in Weatherford as they return to Great American Conference play. SNU is in need of a win as they find themselves in 9th place in the GAC, half a game behind 8th place for the final spot in the conference tournament. This weekend is a great opportunity for the Crimson Storm to earn a series win as SWOSU currently sits at the bottom of the GAC standings. Historically, this has been a very tight series with SNU holding a slim 16-14 advantage over the Bulldogs. Last season SNU swept Southwestern in Bethany. The Storm will hope to do the same in Weatherford this weekend. The teams are set to play a single game at 4:00 p.m. on Friday before a 1:00 p.m. double-header on Saturday.
