OKLAHOMA CITY — Lily LaVelle hit a two-run homer in a three-run third inning, lifting No. 3 Oklahoma City University past No. 5 Lubbock Christian University 6-2 late Saturday for the championship of the Sooner Athletic Conference softball tournament.
LaVelle drove in three runs and pitched a scoreless last three innings, striking out five, for her seventh save.
LCU got a two-run homer from Sarah Mendez in the fourth inning, cutting it to 3-2 but the Stars kept tacking on runs. Kylee Rounsaville hit a leadoff homer in the Oklahoma City fourth, LaVelle added an RBI single in the fifth and Angela Lovelady singled home a run in the sixth.
LCU (54-7) won four games in a row in the elimination bracket and forced the “if-necessary” title game with a 13-7 victory against Oklahoma City (40-18). In that one, the Lady Chaps hit four home runs — two by Andrea Argee and one apiece by Maddie Johnson and Mendez.
Argee finished with five RBIs in the game. Johnson was 3 for 3 with three RBIs, and Brittany Kent and Mendez each drove in two runs.
The Lady Chaps now will await an at-large bid to the NAIA national championships in Gulf Shores, Ala.
SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
TOURNAMENT
Saturday’s Results
Championship Round
LCU 13, OKLAHOMA CITY 7
Okla. City 020 040 1 — 7 9 3
LCU 311 800 x — 13 13 1
Woodward, LaVelle (3), Fox (6) and Rounsaville; Longorio and Coats. W—Longorio (15-4). L—LaVelle (36-3). HR—LCU, Mendez (5), Argee 2 (15), Johnson (7).
OKLAHOMA CITY 6, LCU 2
LCU 000 200 0 — 2 7 0
Okla. City 003 111 x — 6 8 0
Navarrette, Longorio (4) and Coats; Fox, LaVelle (5) and Rounsaville. W—Fox (4-0). L—Navarrette (14-2). Sv—LaVelle (7). 2B—LCU, Kent; Oklahoma City, Lovelady. HR—LCU, Mendez (6); Oklahoma City, LaVelle (21), Rounsaville (11). Records: LCU 54-7, Oklahoma City 40-18.
