DECATUR, Ala. – Simon Fraser (British Columbia) prevailed over Oklahoma City University 4-3 for the Clan's fourth NAIA softball national championship on Wednesday at Wilson Morgan Complex.

OCU finished as national runner-up for the fourth time in program history in a matchup of the two schools with the most NAIA softball titles. OCU has captured eight national championships, the most in NAIA softball.

OCU's national titles came in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2007. OCU was also NAIA runner-up in 1986, 1993 and 1999. OCU has advanced to the NAIA Championships an NAIA-high 24 times.

Simon Fraser previously won national titles in 1999, 2003 and 2005. Simon Fraser beat OCU for the 2003 crown, while OCU defeated the Clan for the 2001 national championship. Simon Fraser finished as NAIA runner-up in 1998, 2001 and 2004.

Rosie Murphy scored the winning run for Simon Fraser on a wild pitch in the sixth inning. Nicola Collicutt led off the sixth with a base hit to shallow center field. Murphy came on to run for Collicutt.

After a sacrifice bunt, Jessie Harris singled to put runners on first and third base. Lily LaVelle struck out Jess Martin. While OCU was intentionally walking Kelsey Haberl, Murphy reached home on a wild pitch.
Simon Fraser ended the game as Amanda Howard nailed a base hit to left. On the play, Harris threw out OCU runner Jenni Gaby at the plate from left field to record Simon Fraser's last out.

OCU's Ashley Wilburn hit a sacrifice fly to center in the top of the sixth to tie the game 3-3.

In the fifth, OCU cut its deficit to 3-2 when LeeAnn Lopez drew a bases-loaded walk. Wilburn and Laurin Hess also drew walks to fill the bases for Lopez.

Jen Davis got the Stars their first run on an RBI base hit to left-center field.

The Clan took advantage of two OCU errors to score three runs in the first. Harris reached home on a throwing error, then Carly Moir had an RBI groundout. Brittany Mayers added a sacrifice fly.

Davis, a senior from Muscatine, Iowa, went 3-for-4 with a run driven in, and Kendall Hobens, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., went 2-for-3. Wilburn went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI.

Hess and Lopez each went 1-for-3, and Nathalie Timmermans went 1-for-1 with three walks. LaVelle took the loss. LaVelle struck out five in six innings of work.

Collicutt and Harris each had two hits for Simon Fraser. Myriam Poirier picked up the victory by pitching the final three innings.

The Stars made the national title game by ousting California Baptist 4-3. No. 1-ranked defending champion California Baptist ended its season 64-4. OCU notched its 99th all-time victory in NAIA softball championships play.

OCU scored twice in the fifth to take a 4-2 advantage. Davis led off the inning by getting hit by pitch, then Howard put runners at first and third base with a base hit. Autumn Mayberry bounced a single up the middle of the infield to score Gaby and Howard to make the difference in the game.

California Baptist picked up a run in the sixth when Nina Cabrales reached home on a passed ball.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ashley Boyd singled to put the potential tying run on for California Baptist. Wilburn replaced Gaby as the Stars pitcher, then Briana Corral had a sacrifice bunt to move Boyd to second.

Wilburn retired Kendall Gorham and Caty Reeves on fly balls to end the game. Wilburn, a senior from Gilmer, Texas, picked up her second save of the season.

Gaby, a junior from Quitman, Texas, worked six innings and allowed three unearned runs on five hits. Gaby struck out one and walked on in moving to 7-4.

Mayberry cranked a home run over the right-field fence that stayed in fair territory in the first. Sloan McHann and Sarah Strong had RBI base hits to put California Baptist ahead 2-1 in the second.

The Stars tied the game 2-2 as Lopez hit a run-scoring single to right-center field in the fourth.

Mayberry, a redshirt freshman from Mustang, Okla., went 2-for-4 with her fourth homer of the year and three RBIs. Davis went 1-for-2, and Hess and Lopez were each 1-for-3.

Six OCU seniors closed out their careers Wednesday. The Stars went 200-43 these past four years with three Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament titles, two SAC regular-season crowns, four trips to the NAIA Championships, a fourth-place national finish last yeaer and the 2007 NAIA championship.

Davis hit .292 with 10 doubles, 19 homers and 73 RBIs in her two-year OCU career. She hit .371 this postseason, including .385 with three home runs in the SAC Tournament. Davis also made the SAC gold-glove team this year and academic all-conference as a junior. 

Gaby finished her three-year Stars career with a 27-7 record, two saves, 2.07 earned run average, six shutouts and 93 strikeouts in 209.1 innings pitched. Gaby became a three-time NAIA scholar-athlete award winner and the 2009-10 Jim Wade Award winner as the OCU female athlete of the year.

Hess, from Edmond, Okla., hit .300 with 32 doubles, 14 homers, 101 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in a four-year OCU career. Hess was on the conference gold-glove team as a junior and second-team all-SAC as a sophomore.

Hobens hit .260 with 14 RBIs as a Star. She went 3-for-7 in the NAIA Championships. She was academic all-conference as a junior.