Alva Review-Courier -

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Southern Nazarene opened the 2018 season by splitting both of their games Thursday at Oklahoma Christian for the UCO/OC Festival.

In the season opener against Oklahoma Christian, Katelyn Brown (0-1) took her first loss of the season as she threw a complete game. She gave up four runs, all earned while also giving up six hits. She also struck out seven Eagle batters.

SNU tallied five hits in the first game as Caitlyn Curleewent 1-for-3 and drove in two runs. Jacey James and Riley Brown also went 1-for-3 in the opener.

The Crimson Storm struck first in the second inning against OC, as Kaley Knox scored on an RBI from Curlee to give SNU a 1-0 lead. They increased their lead in the third inning as Katelyn Brown drove in Kai Sanchez to make it 2-0 in favor of the Storm.

Oklahoma Christian came back in the fourth inning with a couple of runs to tie the game 2-2. The Eagles got a couple of hits in the fifth to load the bases as Katelyn Brown would walk in a run to give OC a 3-2 lead.

The Storm took no time to respond however, as Curlee drove in Riley Brown in the top of the sixth to tie the game. In the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles drove in a run to seal the game.

In the nightcap for the Southern Nazarene against Northeastern State, Shekinah Gilliam (1-0) picked up her first win as a member of the Crimson Storm. The freshman allowed just one hit and struck out one in 1.2 innings. Brooke Tate got the start in the circle for SNU as she gave up five hits and three earned runs in 2.1 innings of work.

The Crimson Storm bats came alive in their second game. Southern Nazarene scored three runs in the first inning as Riley Brown notched a couple of RBI's. Brown went 4-for-4 in the nightcap, and 5-for-7 on the day. The hot bats carried over into the second inning, as SNU ripped off eight more runs to increase their lead to 11-0, courtesy of four Riverhawk errors.

NSU tacked on three runs in the third to cut the Storm lead to 11-3, but Southern Nazarene would add three more in the top of the fifth to get their lead back to double-digits. Curlee cranked the first home run of the season for Southern Nazarene as the freshman sent a three-run bomb into left field.

The Riverhawks tried to extend the game into the final two innings, but Makayla Shonamon took care of business in the circle in the fifth for the run-rule to stay in place.

Mahina Sauer went 2-for-4 in the second game as she scored a run and also drove in a run. Katelyn Brown and Kendal Stockstill each went 1-for-3 against NSU and each scored a run.

Southern Nazarene will close out the UCO/OC Festival Friday with an 11 a.m. game against Central Oklahoma, and a 7 p.m. matchup with Washburn. Both games will be played at Oklahoma Christian.