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Oklahoma City University Athletics

Oklahoma City University
Home Of Champions|73 National Championships
Magean De La Torre

#2 Softball

OCU staves off elimination in NAIA Championships

Third-ranked Stars take on Cal State San Marcos at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday

Magean De La Torre had two hits and scored twice Monday.
GULF SHORES, Ala. – Oklahoma City University remained alive in the NAIA softball championships, knocking off Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) 4-1 on Monday at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex.
The third-ranked Stars (45-19) face second-ranked Cal State San Marcos at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday in an elimination game. OCU started Monday beating sixth-ranked William Carey (Miss.) 2-0 before falling to 10th-ranked Shorter (Ga.) 3-1.
Lily LaVelle became the first pitcher in NAIA history to record 500 strikeouts in a season. LaVelle, a senior from Bridge Creek, Okla., ran her record-setting strikeout numbers to 512 this year and 1,383 in her four-year Stars career.
Against 18th-ranked Auburn-Montgomery, Tori Joyner staked OCU to a 1-0 first-inning lead. Joyner led off the game by reaching on an error, then scored on LeeAnn Lopez's double-play grounder.
In the sixth, OCU created a 3-0 advantage. Jamie Rateliff doubled to left field to score Lopez, then Angela Lovelady drove in Rateliff on a single to center.
After a two-hour, 40-minute delay for lightning, the Stars put away Auburn-Montgomery with a seventh-inning run. Katie Proffitt led off the inning with a base hit, then made it to third base on LaVelle's bunt hit. Proffitt scored on a passed ball.
LaVelle struck out the side in the bottom of the inning. LaVelle (41-4) notched 10 strikeouts and allowed an unearned run on two hits and four walks.
LaVelle went 2-for-4, while Proffitt, a senior from Tulsa, Okla., was 2-for-3 and scored a run. Lovelady, a junior from El Cajon, Calif., went 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Rateliff, a freshman from Mustang, Okla., went 1-for-3, scored a run and drove in a run.
Shorter posted the first earned run against LaVelle in this year's NAIA Championships in the third. Jackie Castaneda homered with two out for the first earned run vs. LaVelle in the national tournament through 29.2 innings. Amanda Dailey scored on an error for a 2-0 Shorter lead.
The Stars rallied in the fifth with Lovelady's RBI single to center field, but Rateliff was caught stretching on the play. Kayla Byrom got out of the inning unscathed outside of Lovelady's hit.
Byrom retired OCU in order in the seventh. She held the Stars to one run on five hits while striking out two. LaVelle (40-4) fanned eight while allowing five hits and a walk in six innings.
LaVelle went 2-for-3. Magean De La Torre, Lovelady and Rateliff added hits.
Against William Carey, Rateliff's two-run homer provided OCU its runs. Rateliff nailed a blast over the left-field fence after De La Torre singled with one out in the second.
LaVelle worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the third. Hannah Cook-Kelley drew a walk to fill the bases. LaVelle struck out Jasmine Shelby, then retired Alyssa Boutwell on a flyout to second base.
William Carey squandered Kaitlyn Perry's double leading off the bottom of the seventh. LaVelle fanned Lindsey Webb, then got Casey Alexander on a popout. Kelsey Jo Smith walked to put the go-ahead run at the plate, but Cook-Kelley grounded out to third.
LaVelle struck out eight, but shut out William Carey on three hits and six walks. LaVelle improved to 40-3.
Joyner went 2-for-4, while LaVelle also went 2-for-4. De La Torre, Rateliff and Kylee Rounsaville each had hits.
OCU-WCU Boxscore
OCU-Shorter Boxscore
OCU-AUM Boxscore
 
NAIA Championships
At Gulf Shores, Ala.
Gulf Shores Sportsplex
Monday's Results
Game 1: Brenau (Ga.) 4, Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) 0
Game 2: Central Baptist (Ark.) 2, Indiana Southeast 1
Game 3: Oklahoma City 2, William Carey (Miss.) 0
Game 4: Shorter (Ga.) 4, Cal State San Marcos 3
Game 5: Auburn-Montgomery 2, Indiana Southeast 1, 9 inn., Indiana Southeast eliminated
Game 6: Cal State San Marcos 7, William Carey 5, William Carey eliminated
Game 7: Brenau 8, Central Baptist 4
Game 8: Shorter 3, Oklahoma City 1
Game 9: Oklahoma City 4, Auburn-Montgomery 1, Auburn-Montgomery eliminated
Game 10: Cal State San Marcos 4, Central Baptist 0, Cent. Baptist eliminated
Tuesday's Games
Game 11: Brenau vs. Shorter, 12:30 p.m., field 1
Game 12: Cal State San Marcos vs. Oklahoma City, 12:30 p.m., field 2
Game 13: Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 5:30 p.m., field 1
Wednesday's Games
Game 14: Championship, 12:30 p.m., field 1
Game 14: If necessary, field 1

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