GOODWELL, Okla. – Oklahoma City rallied past Panhandle State 9-5 in the first game of a softball doubleheader Tuesday, but fell short 10-7 in the second contest at Aggie Field. 

The Stars, ranked second in NAIA softball, went to 18-1, 5-1 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. OCU had its best start to a season since beginning its 2017 championship season 47-0. 

In the first game, OCU answered by plating two runs in the fourth inning when Panhandle State went ahead 4-3 in the third. Carlee Mollet put the Stars ahead 5-4 by lofting a sacrifice fly to left field. Nicole Robinson drove in the tying run with an RBI base hit to left-center. 

Tiffany Paul came up with the eventual winning RBIs by crushing a triple into right field.  

Kennedy Jackson produced her first 5-for-5 performance since a five-hit outing March 22, 2019 against Bacone in Muskogee, Okla. Jackson, a senior from Moore, Okla., scored two runs, swiped two bases and had an RBI. Paul, a redshirt freshman from Choctaw, Okla., went 2-for-5 with three runs driven in, and Robinson, a senior from Rochester, Ill., added a 2-for-4 showing with a double, run scored and RBI. 

Duff, a senior from Lone Grove, Okla., posted a 2-for-5 game, a double and an RBI as well as taking the win. Duff (8-0) pitched the final four innings and allowed one earned run on four hits.  

In the final game, the Stars ended the contest with the tying run on deck. Duff, Kaitlyn Jones and Brooklyn Mason sparked OCU with RBI doubles in the seventh. 

Paul went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, and Jones, a junior from Edmond, Okla., chipped in a 2-for-3 performance with two runs scored and an RBI. Mason, a senior from Lone Grove, Okla., turned in a 2-for-4 outing with three runs knocked in. 

The Stars return to Ann Lacy Stadium for a 5 p.m. twin bill Friday against Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas).