From OCU Sports Info.
Rich Tortorelli, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
TAHLEQUAH – Oklahoma City University ripped Northeastern State 7-2, 9-3 on Saturday at RiverHawks Park.
The Stars, ranked sixth in NAIA softball, continued their finest start in program history by improving to 29-0. Leslie Miller and Kali Pugh launched home runs in the first game, while Madison Ellis nailed a three-run double in the second game to key OCU.
In the first game, Miller lofted a fly ball beyond the left-center field fence in the first inning. Pugh drew a walk before Miller’s homer.
Pugh led off the fourth inning with a solo blast to left-center. Ellis put the Stars up 4-0 by hitting a sacrifice fly to left-center.
In the sixth, Miller reached home plate on a throwing error by the shortstop. Bailey Whitmore gave OCU a 6-2 advantage by scoring on a wild pitch. Whitmore tacked on a seventh-inning RBI grounder.
Whitmore, a freshman from Oklahoma City, went 2-for-4, scored once and drove in a run, while Miller, a senior from Blanchard, Okla., had two runs scored and two RBIs for OCU.
Miller posted 12 strikeouts in 6.1 innings. She allowed two runs on four hits and five walks. Miller (11-0) fanned four in a row in the second and third innings. Georgia Wall came on in the seventh and started a 1-6-3 double play to end the game.
In the next game, OCU erased a 2-0 second-inning deficit with a seven-run third inning. Miller knocked in the go-ahead run with a base hit to right field.
Laci Joyner drew a walk to load the bases, then Ellis cleared the bases by doubling down the left-field foul line. Shelbi Legg put the Stars on top 7-2 with an RBI single to left.
In the fifth, Joyner came home on a wild pitch. Kayley Humann tacked on a sacrifice fly to center.
Legg, a senior from Mustang, Okla., had a 2-for-2 performance with a run scored and an RBI, and Pugh, a junior from Vista, Calif., went 3-for-4, scored a run and drove in a run for OCU. Ellis, a junior from Yukon, Okla., went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three runs driven in, while Jaci Smith, a freshman from Godley, Texas, was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
Abby Meador permitted two runs on a hit and six walks in five innings for the Stars. Meador, a sophomore from Midwest City, Okla., fanned 12 while moving to 12-0.
Oklahoma City takes on St. Gregory’s in a 4 p.m. Sooner Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday in Shawnee, Okla.