April 29, 2011

Story courtesy of Oklahoma Baptist Sports Information

SHAWNEE, Okla. - You can call her No-No Noelle.

Oklahoma Baptist freshman Noelle McDowell tossed a seven-inningno-hitter against 10th-ranked Oklahoma City for a 3-0 win that could helpthe Lady Bison secure the third seed in the upcoming Sooner AthleticConference Tournament.

McDowell, a freshman from Little Elm, Texas, struck outfive, walked slugger Nathalie Timmermans twice and hit her with a pitchonce. No. 25 Oklahoma Baptist also committed two errors.

"The screwball was working today and that's about it," saidMcDowell. "I tried not to think about it so much and just focused onthe hitters."

Making the no-hitter more unlikely - the Stars had just seen McDowellthe day before, hanging a 3-0 loss on OBU in that game.

"It was tough," McDowell said. "I was trying to remember whatthey did in their last at bat. It was a tough game."

The no-hitter was the second by an OBU freshman in as many seasons.Cassidi Henderson threw a no-hitter against Huston-Tillotson (Texas) lastseason.

The games Thursday were the last on Lady Bison Field. The team willmove to a field adjacent to their locker room on the north side ofcampus next fall. McDowell's no-hitter was the first home no-no sinceKena Freeman opened the park with a perfect game against Briar Cliff (Iowa) in2002.

McDowell got two outs on sharp line drives in the first inning, snaggedby second baseman Theresa Garcia and first baseman Sonya Beach - bothseniors in their last regular-season date.

Krystal Johnson homered in her first at bat, breaking a scoreless tiewith no one on in the bottom of the third. Johnson was hit by pitchesher next three trips to the plate in the doubleheader.

Timmermans walked and LeeAnn Lopez reached on an error for OCU'sbiggest threat in the fourth, but McDowell got a ground out to end theinning.

OBU added two in the fourth. Beach walked and Alison Tunnell reached onan error. Garcia sacrificed the runners to second and third and Machado,who was 0-10 with runners in scoring position, ripped a two-run doubleoff the left field wall for the 3-0 lead.

Lily LaVelle (21-7), the owner of six no-hitters, was on the losing endfor the Stars, despite holding OBU to three hits.

The split puts OBU and Oklahoma Christian in a tie for third place inthe SAC, but OBU owns the tiebreaker, based on a better winningpercentage against Lubbock Christian, if LCU can hold its one-game leadon the Stars.

OBU is 32-16 on the season and 18-8 in the SAC. The 32 wins matches thefourth-highest single-season win total for the Lady Bison program.