OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University collected three wins Saturday, taking down Mid-America Christian 12-0 and 6-1 at Ann Lacy Stadium in the Sooner Athletic Conference softball tournament.
The Stars, ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, reached the conference tournament championship game 1 p.m. Sunday against fifth-ranked Science & Arts at Ann Lacy Stadium. OCU (46-6) began the day by ousting Texas Wesleyan from the tournament 4-1.
Oklahoma City advanced to the league tournament championship game for the fifth consecutive time with the last four pitting the Stars vs. Science & Arts. OCU has taken 19 SAC Tournament championships.
To make the title game, OCU rallied past Mid-America Christian with six unanswered runs. The Stars rolled to four runs in the sixth inning. Kaitlyn Jones pounded a fly ball to center field to bring home Rally Radacy from third base and tie the score 1-1.
Brooklyn Mason singled through the middle of the infield with two out to put OCU on top 2-1. Amy Crabaugh nailed a two-run double to right for a five-run Oklahoma City advantage.
In the seventh, the Stars added insurance runs as Lexi Duff and Jones smacked run-scoring singles.
Shelbey Cornelson earned the victory by keeping Mid-America Christian scoreless over the last 3.2 innings. Cornelson (29-3) struck out six. Cornelson, a junior from Tuttle, Okla., completed the day 3-0 with 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings. Duff pitched the first 3.1 innings of the game.
Crabaugh, a junior from Edmond, Okla., and Jones, a junior from Edmond, Okla., each went 2-for-3 with two runs driven in.
OCU needed to sweep two wins from Mid-America Christian to get to the title bout. The Stars blanked Mid-America 12-0 earlier in the day as Tiffany Paul drove in three runs.
Paul sparked the Stars with an RBI double into left-center to put OCU's first run on the scoreboard in the first inning. Duff nailed a run-scoring single to stake the Stars to a 2-0 first-inning lead.
Mason touched off a five-run third by tripling down the right-field foul line to plate two more runs. Crabaugh belted a two-run home run to center to give OCU a 7-0 cushion. The Stars scored five runs in the fifth capped by Paul crushing a two-run blast off the scoreboard in left.
Paul, a redshirt freshman from Choctaw, Okla., had a 2-for-4 performance with three runs driven in with two runs scored. Cornelson and Duff combined to limit Mid-America Christian to one hit in five innings. Kassie Martin managed to draw a walk in the first and an infield hit in the fourth.
Against Texas Wesleyan, OCU erased an early 1-0 deficit. Paul had an RBI double to tie the game in the first, then Crabaugh hit an RBI triple in the fifth for the go-ahead run.