Lady Bison Sweep Texas Wesleyan in Opener

February 12, 2008

Oklahoma Baptist posted 25 runs and 27 hits in its first softball doubleheader of the season, sweeping Texas Wesleyan 8-7 and 17-3 in Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday.

"We came out and hit the ball well today," said OBU coach Pam Fink. "I'm pretty happy with the offense, but there is still a lot of room for improvement in every aspect of our game. But it was a pretty good start to the season."

OBU last played Texas Wesleyan in 2006, when the Rams dumped an 18-2 loss on the Lady Bison.

OBU got things rolling in the second inning, taking a 1-0 lead when Hilary Davis singled home Sarah Ryan. The lead swelled to 4-0 in the third on a run-scoring error and a two-run triple by Bobbi Day.

The Lady Bison scored three more in the fourth for a 7-0 advantage with RBI singles by Vanessa Fortune and Brooke Stevens and a sacrifice fly by Kaley Dickerson.

The Rams scored in the bottom of the fourth, but OBU got the run back in the sixth by way of an RBI single by Stevens.

Texas Wesleyan scored six times on six hits and two OBU errors in the bottom of the sixth. The Rams got runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, but Alicia Avilla worked out of the jam for the save.

Whitney Heltzel (1-0) went six innings, allowing four earned runs in picking up the win.

Stevens, Jami Pate and Alyssa Henkes had two hits each in OBU's 11-hit attack.

The second game appeared to be a competitive one over the first two innings. OBU scored three times in the first inning with a two-run single by Dickerson and a sacrifice fly by Sonya Beach.

Texas Wesleyan added three runs on three hits and two OBU errors in the second to tie the game at 3-3.

OBU got an RBI double by Pate and an RBI single by Henkes in the fourth for a 5-3 lead.

The game was a two-run affair until the Lady Bison erupted for 12 runs in the sixth, sending 17 hitters to the plate for nine hits and a TWU error.

Henkes reached on an RBI fielders choice to start the carousel and Jayme Boyer added a two-run single. OBU then got back-to-back-to-back RBI singles by Dickerson, Day and Beach. Chelsea Hull added a two-run single. Henkes brought in two more with a triple, followed by another RBI single by Dickerson. Another run came in on a wild pitch.

Beach (1-0) went the distance for the win, striking out three and allowing no earned runs.

Henkes and Dickerson had three hits and four RBI apiece to pace the 16-hit attack, while Pate, Boyer, Stevens and Beach added two hits each.

Now 2-0, the Lady Bison open the home season Tuesday, Feb. 19, against East Central University.