LAKE CHARLES—
Corine Poncho provided the only scoring for McNeese softball Friday night in its 8-1 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma in front of a Cowgirl Diamond record setting crowd of 1,542 fans.
Poncho gave McNeese (4-3) the early lead with her solo home run, her fifth of the season, in the bottom of the first inning. The home run is the first allowed by the Sooners this season.
Poncho was the bright spot for the Cowgirls' offense as she picked up two of the four Cowgirl hits in the game.
Emily Phillips and
Delaney Dunham each had one hit apiece.
Oklahoma (6-0) responded with two runs in the second and three in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead.
The Sooners tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Cowgirls used five pitchers in the game with starter
Lindsay Davis taking the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season. Davis gave up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts.
Ryann Schexnayder was the first reliever who allowed three runs on three hits in one inning.
Shaelyn Sanders entered the game in the fourth inning and allowed two runs on four hits.
Brilee Ford made her collegiate debut in the fourth and faced two batters and allowed one hit.
Alexis Dibbley closed the game, tossing the final inning and struck out one.
Kelly Maxwell improved to 3-0 on the year with the win. Maxwell tossed five innings, allowed three hits, the only Cowgirl run of the game and struck out eight. Karlie Keeney relieved Maxwell for the final two innings and faced six batters, allowing one hit.
Day two of the Cowgirl Challenge will consists of four games. Lamar and Central Arkansas will get things started at 11 a.m. McNeese will face Central Arkansas at 4 p.m. and Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m.
COWGIRL CHALLENGE
SATURDAY, FEB. 17
11 a.m. Lamar vs.
Central Arkansas
1:30 p.m. Lamar vs.
Oklahoma
4 p.m. Central Arkansas vs.
McNeese
6:30 p.m. Oklahoma vs.
McNeese (SOLD OUT)
SUNDAY, FEB. 18
11 a.m. Central Arkansas vs.
Oklahoma
1:30 p.m. Lamar vs.
McNeese
