OKLAHOMA CITY – In a battle of two of the nation's top teams, the No. 6 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions fell in a pair of extra inning games to the No. 10 Oklahoma Christian University  Eagles on Sunday.
 
The Eagles scored in the bottom of the eighth inning in each game to walk off with wins in each game – 2-1 in the opener, and 5-4 in the second contest.
 
The Lions are now 25-12 overall and 18-6 in the Lone Star Conference, while Oklahoma Christian is 33-5 overall and 23-3 in the LSC. The Eagles have won 16 straight games.
 
The Lions have six regular season games remaining, with doubleheaders vs. UT Tyler at home on May 1, Cameron on the road on May 3, and St. Edward's at home on May 9.
 
GAME ONE
A late miscue doomed the Lions in a 2-1 loss in 8 innings in the opener. In what was expected to be a tight doubleheader, A&M-Commerce missed out on its first chance at runs, stranding runners at second and third in the first inning.
 
The Eagles took the lead in the second inning on Lindsey Stoeckel's RBI single, but starting pitcher Alyssa LeBlanc (Katy) was able to minimize the damage and keep the score at 1-0.
 
Pitchers dominated the rest of the game, but not only in the circle. Once the Lions earned a chance in the sixth, LeBlanc capitalized. Madison Schaefer (Frisco – Independence) walked to lead off the sixth, and a LeBlanc double pushed her all the way home to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Oklahoma Christian earned the win in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out rally. A single and double put runners in scoring position, and a potential game-extending popup was mishandled, allowing the Eagles to finish off the 2-1 win.
 
LeBlanc was tagged with the loss despite allowing only one earned run in 7.2 innings on six hits with eight strikeouts and five walks. Schaefer went 2-for-3 to earn two of the Lions' three hits. Kinsie Hebler (Cy-Fair) had two walks in the game.
 
GAME TWO
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Lions had the lead twice but saw the Eagles fight back on each occasion.
 
Schaefer was 3-for-5 in the game with three RBIs and Kuea Angilau (Salt Lake City, Utah) drew a pair of walks. Emily Otto (Lamar Consolidated) was stuck with a loss after allowing four earned runs in 6.0 innings of action on six hits, with six strikeouts and no walks.
 
After threatening to score with the bases loaded in the third, A&M-Commerce made good on that threat in the fourth. Kimber Neal (Humble – Atascocita) brought home the game's first run on a RBI bunt, and Schaefer's two-out two-run single pushed the Lion lead quickly to 3-0.
 
OC was able to chip away at that lead with a leadoff homer in the fifth, a triple and RBI ground out in the sixth, and a game-tying single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Lions missed out on a chance to extend their lead in the seventh, with two strikeouts after loading the bases with one out.
 
The Lions took the lead again in the top of the eight on Schaefer's RBI double after Uxua Modrego (Burlada, Spain) reached on an error.
 
The Eagles tied the game on their first opportunity in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff homer, and the game-winning run came across on a two-out single, handing the hosts the sweep.