OKLAHOMA CITY – The Stars are going back to Georgia!
 
Oklahoma City got the late run to tie the game and knocked off Missouri Baptist 4-3 in eight innings to claim the Opening Round title and claim a spot in the NAIA Softball World Series in Columbus.
 
The Stars beat Missouri Baptist for the second time in four meetings this year after dropping the first two contests. OCU got the 6-5 win in dramatic fashion on Wednesday and found ways to score in four different innings for the 4-3 win on Thursday.
 
"With respect to the teams that beat us this year, this was the toughest team we've faced this season," said OCU Head Coach Phil McSpadden about MBU. "I did not like the draw when I saw it. We'd seen them earlier this year. They have a lot of power and strong pitching. You tell me where they're weak. We have big-time respect for Missouri Baptist. I don't know why they aren't in the top 10."
 
Emersen Heron went all eight innings in the circle for OCU, getting to 23-5 on the season.
 
Iliana Ashford got the first of three OCU home runs with no one aboard in the first inning, her second of the season.
 
Carlee Mollet singled home Kindalyn Miller for a 2-0 lead in the top of the second.
 
Just have they had done in every game against the Stars this season, Missouri Baptist rallied. The Spartans scored three in the bottom of the second, taking the lead on an RBI double by Jacie Dees.
 
But that was all Heron was giving up. She scattered four hits over the next six innings.
 
Analise Rayburn tied the game, rocketing her 25^th home run of the season over the scoreboard in left in the top of the sixth inning.
 
Tara Hoehner added her 15^th of the year in the top of eighth for the 4-3 lead.
 
The Spartans got the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the eighth, but Heron got Dees to pop up on the infield to end the game.
 
"This is a resilient bunch," McSpadden said. "I don't know where you would rank this team compared to our previous teams, but they never quit and they're great kids."
 
The Stars produced four runs with just six hits. Mollet and Hoehner had two hits each.
 
Play begins in Columbus, Ga., on Thursday, May 22. OCU will be joined there by Southern Oregon, Grand View, Central Methodist, Georgia Gwinnett, Reinhardt, Eastern Oregon, Marian, Cumberlands and Midland.
 
Top-ranked USAO and defending national champion Our Lady of the Lake did not advance in their home Opening Round tournaments.