OBU Tops OWU, Mid-Continent

Oklahoma Baptist had to play 15 innings to snag two wins in its home classic, beating Oklahoma Wesleyan in five innings, 8-0, and Mid-Continent University (Ky.) in 10 innings, 10-6.

Ashley Howard, 3-2, twirled the five-inning one-hitter against Oklahoma Wesleyan — a game-starting single by Tisha Gouge. Howard allowed just a pair of walks after that and struck out two.

OBU scored once in the first inning when Howard doubled and scored on an error.

Three more runs came home in the third on an RBI single by Melissa Martinez and a two-run home run by Michelle Asmundson.

Brett Swofford doubled and scored on Allison Ramzy’s triple in the fourth and Ramzy came in on a double by Howard for a 6-0 lead.

OBU ended the game in the bottom of the fifth with Swofford doubling home two runners for the 8-run mercy rule. Howard and Martinez finished with three hits each, with Asmundson and Swofford getting two apiece in OBU’s 11-hit attack.

Things were not nearly as easy for OBU in the second game — a match-up of 2002 NAIA Tournament teams.

OBU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI singles by Cathy Nitz, Martinez and Swofford.

Mid-Continent, coached by former Bethel High School standout Taralee Pringle, bounced back for three runs, including their only earned run of the game, in a four-hit, two-error second inning.

MCU took the lead in the third as OBU committed its third error.

The Bison bounced back in the fifth on an RBI grounder by Nitz that produced an unearned run and an RBI single by Catherine Eimen.

MCU tied the game in the fifth with two hits and an OBU error.

The international tiebreaker rule came into play in the eighth inning, but neither team scored until the ninth. OBU went ahead by one on a squeeze bunt by Nitz to score Howard. But MCU did the same thing in the bottom of the ninth when Kim Erickson squeezed home Amanda Frank.

OBU blew the game open in the top of the 10th. Eimen singled to put runners at first and second ahead of an RBI double by Ramzy. Sandralina Rones produced an RBI with a sacrifice fly. Howard singled home a run and a fourth run came in on a sac fly by Martinez.

Amanda Zahara, 5-1, who gave up just one earned run in the game, got out of the bottom of the 10th cleanly for the 10-6 win.

OBU had four hits by Katy Thurber, three by Howard and two each by Eimen and Ramzy.

The Lady Bison improve to 8-3 on the season. They will play Mid-Continent at 1 p.m. Saturday and wrap up the classic against Oklahoma Wesleyan at 3 p.m.