EDMOND, Okla. – In a battle of two top 25 teams, the West Texas A&M softball team swept its series with the No. 20-ranked Oklahoma Christian Eagles. The Lady Buffs held on for a 5-4 victory in game one before dominating the Eagles 9-0 in five innings in game two. WT improves to 18-0 on the season with an 8-0 record in Lone Star Conference play.
 
WT returns home for a Lone Star Conference matchup with No. 1-ranked and defending national champion UT Tyler. The Lady Buffs and Patriots renew their series with a 4 p.m. first pitch.
 
THE BASICS
Game 1 Score: #8 West Texas A&M 5, #20 Oklahoma Christian 4
Pitching: (W) Emilee Boyer (9-0); (L) Grace Anderson (5-2)
For the second consecutive game, Lauren Granger started the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first. The solo shot would be all for WT in the inning, taking a 1-0 lead into the second.
 
OC answered the Lady Buffs' run with three of its own in the bottom of the second as a walk and bunt single moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt. Emilee Boyer would record a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but back-to-back hits scored three runs for the Eagles.
 
WT came back with three runs of its own in the top of the third where singles from Avery Cannon and Granger came in to score on RBI singles from Boyer and Heaven Moreno to take a 4-3 lead.
 
In the fifth inning, the Lady Buffs added to their lead as a leadoff single from Kiley Avery advanced to second where Boyer ripped a single into left field. Avery came in to score while an error in left field allowed Boyer to reach third base. With the runner on third, Moreno attempted a squeeze bunt, but the Eagles cut the runner down at the plate.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, OC attempted to come back and stun the Lady Buffs as a leadoff single from Kadence Brewster came around to score on an RBI triple from Marti Yaerger. With the tying run on third, Boyer locked in and forced a ground ball to second. Cannon quickly fired home to Granger who initiated a rundown where WT tagged the Eagles' runner out. Boyer ended the game a batter later when the junior fielded her position on a groundball, tossing to Cadence Colborn at first for the final out.
 
Game 2 Score:  #8 West Texas A&M 9, #20 Oklahoma Christian 0 (5 inn.)
Pitching: (W) Heidi Vortherms (8-0); (L) Jill Dickson (3-3)
WT scored first once again in game two as a leadoff double from Granger moved to third on a wild pitch before Avery walked and stole second. Abby Howell cashed in on the RBI chance as the freshman lined a single into right. With one out in the inning, Moreno grounded to third where the fielder fired across the diamond. After the throw left the hand of the fielder, Avery broke for the plate to score.
 
The two-run game lasted until the top of the fourth inning where the Lady Buffs started to break the game open. Back-to-back doubles from Boyer and Moreno scored a run before a Halie Stoneking single and stolen base put runners on second and third with no outs. Trinity Kuntz brought the pair in when the sophomore catcher belted a 1-1 pitch into the gap. The two-run double forced an OC pitching change where Cannon welcomed the new arm with a first-pitch home run to left. Emily Liskai brought the run-rule into play two pitches later when the sophomore connected for a solo shot, bringing the score up to 8-0.
 
The Eagles attempted to score a run in the bottom of the inning as a leadoff error put a runner on the bases. A grounder moved the runner up to second where a one-out singled from Kate Paulsen put runners on the corners. In the circle, Heidi Vortherms wouldn't let OC get on the board, striking out the next hitter and ending the inning on a flyout to right.
 
WT added an extra run in the fifth when Boyer led off the inning with a solo shot to left-center field. With a nine-run lead, the Lady Buffs turned to Kendall Selitzky to finish the game off. Selitzky allowed a two-out single but ended the game with a groundout to secure the run-rule victory.