Lady Bison Take Bronze Bracket

After struggling through pool play, Oklahoma Baptist found its sticks Sunday and captured the Bronze Bracket championship at the Gulf Coast Invitational with wins over Ohio Dominican and USAO.

OBU scored an extra-inning win over Ohio Dominican, 12-8, and held off USAO 4-3 in the finals. Kaley Dickerson homered in both games.

OBU jumped out ahead of ODU with a three-run first on am RBI single by Sonya Beach and a two-run base hit by Brittney Day. Jami Pate singled a run home for a 4-1 lead in the second.

Ohio Dominican scored the next six runs, taking a 7-4 lead until OBU scored four times in the fifth on an RBI double by Jayme Boyer and a three-run home run by Dickerson. ODU tied it in the bottom of the fifth and forced extra innings.

OBU averted a big inning when Day made a diving catch at second base and turned what might have been a big base hit into a double play.

The Lady Bison scored twice on errors and also got an RBI single by Boyer and an RBI ground out by Dickerson for four runs in the top of the eighth.

The Panthers' hope at a rally in the bottom of the inning took a significant hit when Vanessa Fortune went high to spear a line drive at short and doubled the runner off second to start the inning.

Whitney Heltzel pitched the last five innings for the win.

OBU busted out 18 hits in the game, including five by Boyer, three each by Alyssa Henkes and Brittney Day and two each by Beach and Dickerson. Bobbi Day had a double.

In the second game, OBU used a solo home run by Dickerson in the second and a two-run shot by Boyer in the third to take a 3-0 lead. Pate drew a bases-loaded walk for a 4-1 Lady Bison lead in the fourth.

Beach picked up the win as the starter and Alicia Avilla earned her second save of the season.

Now 14-12 on the season, OBU plays a doubleheader with Spring Hill Monday night in Mobile, Ala.

OBU 12, Ohio Domincan 8, 8 innings

OBU 310 040 04 -12 18 4

ODU 124 010 00 -8 10 3

Sonya Beach, Whitney Heltzel (3) and Jayme Boyer; Vanna Etter and Kaitlin Camboni.

W-Heltzel. L-Etter

HR: OBU-Kaley Dickerson

OBU 4, USAO 3

USAO 000 120 0 -3 6 1

OBU 012 100 x -4 7 3

Kim Alford, Michelle Bauer (4), Chancie Godwin (5) and Amy Tice; Sonya Beach, Alicia Avilla (6) and Jayme Boyer.

W-Beach. L-Alford. S-Avilla (2).

HR: Jayme Boyer, Kaley Dickerson