OKLAHOMA CITY (March 21, 2017) - Texas Woman's University split a pair of nonconference contests with Oklahoma Christian by taking a 6-1 victory over the Lady Eagles before falling 11-3 in five innings Tuesday at Tom Heath Field.
 
Texas Woman's 6, Oklahoma Christian 1
 
Nicole Nordie led off the evening with a single to center field and made her way to second on a wild pitch. A passed ball allowed Nordie to skip to third, and a fly ball to center by Tylia Sylestine brought her in for a 1-0 TWU lead.
 
Abby Walker singled to center in the top of the second before pinch runner Nicole Parnell stole second. A throwing error by the Lady Eagles allowed Morgan Harrison to reach first and scored Parnell to increase the Pioneer advantage to 2-0, and an RBI double from Nordie brought in Harrison for another run.
 
A TWU throwing error proved costly as it scored an Eagle in the bottom of the third. The Pioneers picked off an OC runner at third before a single placed runners on first and third, but the Lady Eagles were kept at bay on a fly out.
 
Walker again led off an inning with a single in the fourth and pushed her way up two bases on groundouts. Nordie talled another single to score Walker for a 4-1 Pioneer advantage.
 
Walker blasted her second home run of the season in the top of the sixth to left field for another run. OC knocked a triple to right center in the bottom of the inning but the runner was left stranded after three straight outs.
 
Katy Stephens was hit by a pitch in the top of the seventh and reached second on a sacrifice bunt from Hazel Puempel. Sylestine singled down the left line to load the bases, and Stephens scored on a fielder's choice for a 6-1 TWU lead. An intentional walk to Walker filled up the bases before a final fly out ended the inning. The Pioneers held the Lady Eagles to one single in their final offensive opportunity to end the game.
 
Walker (10-3) recorded the win on eight hits and two walks.
 
Oklahoma Christian 11, Texas Woman's 3 (5 innings)
 
Nordie again led off the game with a single and then advanced to second on a Stephens sacrifice bunt. Sylestine doubled to right field to bring in Nordie for an early 1-0 Pioneer lead. Bice singled to center but Sylestine was caught out at home to conclude the first inning.
 
The Lady Eagles tied the game in the bottom half by way of a walk to the second batter. The runner stole second and sprinted to home on a wild pitch to even the score at 1-1. A triple to left center in the bottom of the second scored to more Lady Eagles runs for a 3-1 advantage.
 
The Pioneers came back to tie the contest due in part to back-to-back OC errors in the third. Stephens reached base and Nordie scored on the second fielding miscue to pull within one. Sylestine added a sacrifice fly to score Stephens to knot the contest at 3-all.
 
OC took advantage of a Pioneer error in the bottom of the third to reclaim the lead at 4-3. The Lady Eagles put four runs on the Pioneers in the fourth and three in the fifth to end the game at 11-2 in favor of OC.
 
Bice (6-7) suffered the loss on eight runs, four hits, six walks and three strikeouts.
 
The Pioneers head to Angelo State for a Friday matchup at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m.