#3 USAO Stretches Win Streak to Eight and Sweeps the Series Against Langston

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Friday afternoon, the No. 3 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (39-7, 29-3 SAC) extended their win streak to eight with a pair of run-rule victories against Langston University (5-33, 4-26 SAC). The Drovers cruised to an 11-1 win in the first game of the day, prior to a 10-2 win in the series finale. 

On Thursday, the Drovers began the series with a dramatic 9-8 extra-inning victory, followed by a dominant 10-2 run-rule triumph in game two. With the sweep, the Drovers improve to 30-0 against the Lions all-time, dating to February 2014.

The Drovers currently sit atop the Sooner Athletic Conference standings, 2.0 games ahead of No. 6 ranked Oklahoma City University. The top eight teams in the SAC standings advance to the conference tournament, which will take place at USAO and OCU from May 1-3. 

Through 46 games this season, USAO has tallied 10 or more hits on 23 different occasions, and they have earned 16 wins via the run-rule. The pitching staff has also been terrific, producing a 2.04 earned run average with 247 strikeouts in 295.0 innings. Furthermore, USAO has held opponents to a .217 batting average, while the Drovers offense owns a .357 average at the dish. 

GAME 1

The Drovers led from start to finish as they cruised to an 11-1 win in game three of the series. 

USAO scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, driven in by Sierra Selfridge and Leighanne Eaton. Langston cut their deficit in half with a run in the top of the third inning, but the Drovers immediately retaliated with six runs in the bottom of the third highlighted by a pair of home runs from Leighanne Eaton and Jadyn Goucher. In the bottom of the fourth, Shaylann Grace stretched the lead to 11-1 on Shaylann Grace's three-run homer. 

As a team, the Drovers offense produced 10 hits and drew one walks, while the Lions tallied four hits and two free passes. Both teams committed one fielding error.   

Sophie Williams got the start in the circle and improved her record to 20-4 as she pitched all 5.0 innings, allowing zero earned runs on four hits and she struck out six batters. 

In her stellar career, Williams owns a 91-22 record, along with a 1.34 earned run average and 880 strikeouts in 718.2 innings of work. She owns 36 shutouts, five no-hitters, and seven perfect games since the start of 2022.

USAO's offense was led by four two-hit performances, including Shaylann Grace going 2-3 with a double, her sixth home run of the season, two runs scored, and three runs batted in. Sierra Selfridge went 2-3 with a double, a run scored, and a run batted in. Kinzie Williams concluded 2-3 with a run scored and Malea McMurtrey went 2-2 with a pair of runs scored. 

Leighanne Eaton launched her fifth homer as she finished 1-2 with four runs batted in, while Jadyn Goucher went 1-2 with her eighth longball of the season, in addition to two runs batted in. 

GAME 2 

The Drovers scored early and often as they closed the series with a commanding 10-2 triumph in six innings.

After a scoreless first inning, the Drovers jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the second inning, highlighted by Shaylann Grace's seventh home run of the season. USAO added insurance with two more runs in the third inning, including Sierra Selfridge's 14^th home run of the season. The Drovers stretched the lead to 6-0 with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Langston scored once in the fifth, prior to one more in the sixth. USAO scored its final four runs in the bottom of the sixth, ending the game early due to the run-rule.

As a team, the Drovers offense produced 16 hits and drew zero walks, while the Lions were held to seven hits, and two free passes. LU committed one fielding errors and USAO was perfect defensively. 

Sophie Williams made her final regular season start at Bill Smith Ballpark and pitched only 0.2 innings, giving the home crowd a chance to cheer the pitcher off the field one last. Abi Gregory then pitched the final 5.1 innings and earned the win to improve her record to 4-0 this season. Gregory surrendered two runs on five hits, and she struck out a batter. 

The Drover offense was led by seven multi-hit performances, including Malea McMurtrey going 3-4 with a run scored and two runs batted in. Sierra Selfridge concluded 2-4 with a homer and three runs batted in, while Shaylann Grace went 2-3 with a solo-homer. Jadyn Goucher went 2-3 with a pair of doubles, a run scored, and a run batted in. Jaylee Willis and doubled twice as she went 2-3 with a run scored. Addison Willis finished 2-3 with a pair of runs scored and a run batted in. Kinzie Williams extended her hit-streak to 16 games with a 2-4 performance that included a run scored and a run batted in. 

Taygan Graham singled once and scored once in the series finale. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will now head to McPherson, Kan. for the final four-game series of the regular season at Central Christian College on April 25-26. Friday's double-header is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM CT, followed by a noon start time for Saturday's twin bill.   

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