USAO’s softball team went into Tuesday’s series with a record of 5-3, visiting the Droevrs were the Saints of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), who came into the contest with a 12-4 record.

The first game of the day started with a bang, USAO drew first blood as Jaclyn Gray hit a two-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning, Gray and Malea McMurtrey’s runs gave the Drovers a 2-0 lead going into the second inning.

While that was a perfect way to end an inning, the momentum didn’t exactly last, the Drovers went scoreless in the second inning and the Saints got one run to cut the lead to 2-1. From that point until the fifth inning there wasn’t too much action as both teams went scoreless from the third to the fifth.

The fifth inning is where things started to go south for USAO. At the top of the fifth, the Saints hit a two-run homerun to steal the lead and put the score at 3-2. The Saints stole the momentum and took it into the sixth and seventh innings as well

The sixth inning also saw a two-run home run from OLLU which extended their lead from one to three. The Drovers couldn’t find their rhythm at the plate, which allowed the Saints to cap off the game with a run in the seventh inning to win the game 6-2.

With Tuesday’s first game of the series out of the way, USAO looked to bounce back and even the series. The Drovers also looked to keep a winning record as they dropped to 5-4 after the first game of the day.

The second game started with the Saints scoring first from a single that led to a run. The Drovers would tie the game at 1-1 at the bottom of the first. The second inning didn’t feature too much action, the Saints scored once again from a single to take the lead at 2-1.

The third inning saw both teams score as the Saints hit a two-run homerun and the Drovers scored off an error which led to a run from McMurtrey making the score 4-2, in favor of OLLU.

The fourth inning the Drovers scored twice and found themselves knotted at 4-4 looking to steal the lead and momentum from OLLU going forward.

Unfortunately, the Drovers would find themselves trailing the rest of the game from the fifth inning and on. USAO wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the sixth inning, but at that point the Saints already scored six more times putting their total at ten. OLLU would cap off the series by adding two more runs in the seventh to seal the deal as they won the second game 12-6 and won the series.

The Drovers will be on the road with their next set of games at the Hosea Bell Red Dirt Classic 2023 in Oklahoma City. On Friday, March 3rd, USAO will play Huston-Tillotson at 11:30 a.m. and their next game will be at 4:30 p.m. against Bethel.

Preston Palm is a second-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.