CANYON, Texas – In a game that went three hours and saw multiple momentum shifts, the West Texas A&M softball team fell to Oklahoma Christian 9-8 on Saturday evening. The Lady Buffs and Eagles went back-and-forth before a walk-off single into left from Grace Anderson in the bottom of the eighth ended the game.
 
WT, acting as the visitor, landed the first blow in the battle of Lone Star Conference foes. After a strikeout to start the game, Brittni Rufus connected with a 3-2 pitch to send the ball over the fence in center. With a 1-0 lead, Emilee Boyer drew a walk followed by a Madison Johnson single up the middle. As the Lady Buffs threatened to add on, Oklahoma Christian ended the inning on a strikeout to retire the side.
 
In the third, WT benefitted from hard contact off Eagles starter Jill Dickson as Boyer lined a ball off the pitcher before moving to second on an overthrow. It didn't take long for Diana Murtha to find her pitch as the senior blasted a home run over the left-field wall, extending the lead to 3-0. The Lady Buffs continued to produce hard-hit balls off Dickson, but the OC defense converted the plays into outs.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Eagles took advantage of a pair of WT errors to start their rally. A leadoff walk moved to second as Boyer forced a groundball back to the circle, but Madison Johnson couldn't catch the throw cleanly. A second error loaded the bases where Kristen Whitehouse singled in a run. After a Lady Buff pitching change, OC plated the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. WT recorded two outs to put itself a pitch away from ending the inning, but a walk and single to center plated two more. A second walk put more traffic on the bases where a double scored two more and extended the Eagles' lead to 6-3.
 
The Lady Buffs wouldn't let OC lead for long as Murtha started the frame with a leadoff walk. Johnson followed with a ball up the middle, but the Eagles' flip to second went high, allowing Murtha to reach second safely. Gabriella Valforte also reached with a walk and chased Dickson out of the game. After OC made the move to the bullpen, Heaven Moreno drove a ball into the right-center gap for a bases-clearing triple to tie the game at six. Eagles' reliever Grace Anderson retired the next batter before Emily Liskai doubled off the wall in center to give WT the lead. OC answered in the bottom of the fifth inning when Whitehouse homered over the left field wall to tie the game.
 
The back-and-forth game continued in the sixth as a pair of walks and an infield single loaded the bases with two outs. With Schaeffer Park holding its breath, Anderson ended the inning with a ground out to second base. After gaining momentum in the top of the inning, the Eagles used two walks and a single to load the bases with one out. A bases-loaded walk brought in the go-ahead run for OC and forced another WT pitching change. After Ashley Mandell entered the game, the freshman got the Eagles to ground a ball to third where Murtha gathered and forced out the runner at the plate. Mandell finished off the inning and kept OC off the board on another groundout.
 
Needing a run to keep the season alive, Megan Guericke powered a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall to tie the game. A Lauren Granger single to right put a runner on where the sophomore advanced to second on a groundout to short. With the go-ahead run on second, Anderson escaped the inning once again. In the bottom of the seventh, Mandell worked around a leadoff single and sacrifice bunt as the Eagles put runners on the corners with one out. A strong throw across the diamond from Johnson at short put the second out on the board and kept the runner at third base where the Lady Buffs ended the inning without damage.
 
The eighth inning saw Murtha start the Lady Buffs' side with a double to the gap. WT couldn't bring Murtha around as Anderson retired the next three batters, stealing momentum in the game. OC used back-to-back singles to set up a sacrifice bunt, placing runners at second and third with one out. With a 2-1 count, Anderson came through for the Eagles as the pitcher snuck a ball into left to end the game.
 
WT, the 2024 Lone Star Conference Co-Regular Season and Tournament Champions, ends its season with an overall record of 50-8. It is the first time in program history the Lady Buffs have posted back-to-back seasons of 50 wins.