FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City University mauled Texas Wesleyan 5-3 and 14-1 on Thursday at Sycamore Park.
Baileigh Loux and Jaci Smith each hammered three home runs on the day for the Stars. OCU, top-ranked in NAIA softball, went to 18-2, 2-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Loux rallied the Stars to victory in the first game. Loux, a sophomore from Reno, Nev., crushed a homer over the center-field fence leading off the sixth inning to tie the game 3-3. With two out in the top of the seventh, Loux delivered a two-run blast beyond the left-center field fence for the winning runs.
Jaden Shores retired Texas Wesleyan in order in the seventh inning to sew up the victory. Shores, a junior from Blanchard, Okla., improved to 9-1 this year. Shores struck out six in seven innings.
Smith pounded a two-run homer to left to put OCU ahead 2-0 in the third. Hailey Hollingsworth had a two-run homer in the fourth to give Texas Wesleyan a 3-2 advantage.
Loux went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, and Smith, a senor from Godley, Texas, drove in two runs and scored twice.
In the second game, Smith matched her career high with seven RBIs. She equaled the seven runs she brought home against Central Christian (Kan.) on May 3, 2018 in the SAC Tournament.
Smith was 3-for-3 with four runs scored. Smith launched a two-run homer in the first, then added a two-run base hit in the second. Smith nailed a three-run shot to center to boost OCU to a 14-0 advantage in the fourth.
Loux clouted a two-run homer in the second. Morgan McCallum smacked a two-run double in the third to give the Stars a 10-0 lead.
McCallum, a junior from Mesquite, Texas, picked up a 3-for-4 outing with two RBIs, and Kennedy Jackson, a sophomore from Moore, Okla., went 2-for-4 and score four times for the Stars. Loux was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Kylie Dodson notched the win to go to 9-1 on the year. Dodson, a freshman from Mustang, Okla., had five strikeouts in five innings.
Oklahoma City meets Baker (Kan.) at 2 p.m., then Friends (Kan.) at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Two Rivers Youth Complex in Wichita, Kan.