OKLAHOMA CITY – Ask Shorter head softball coach Al Thomas about Maggie Meacham and he'll tell you that describing her as soft spoken is an understatement.

While Meacham herself may have little to say, her bat did plenty of talking on Thursday in Oklahoma City.

Shorter's senior outfielder belted a go-ahead, two-run double to key a three-run fifth and lead the No. 24-ranked Lady Hawks to a 4-2 victory over seventh-ranked St. Mary's (Texas) in the opening game of the 2015 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series.

With the win, Shorter (42-15) advances to face the University of Indianapolis (48-13) tomorrow at 5 pm ET in a winner's bracket clash. The Greyhounds, champions of the Midwest Region, clipped North Georgia 1-0 in Thursday's second game.

"It was good start for us," said Thomas. "You can't replicate what this stadium and this atmosphere and what this is all about. For us, this is a great opportunity. It took us a couple of innings to get going, but I'm proud of the way we continued to fight."

The Lady Hawks used a brilliant pitching performance from freshman Amanda Blanchard, Meacham's heroics and a postseason-high 12 hits to stifle the Rattlers (48-11), who featured both the Heartland Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year in third baseman Nicole Sardelich and ace Vianna Gutierrez, respectively.

Shorter got the best of both on Thursday, as Sardelich went 0-for-3 at the plate and Gutierrez was chased in the fifth after Meacham's drive to the left center field wall that scored Hannah Draper and Niki Cook and put the Lady Hawks ahead 3-2.

Ericka Bynum, who went 3-for-3 with two RBI for Shorter, followed two batters later with an RBI single off Rattler's reliever Hope Russell to plate Meacham and put the Lady Hawks up 4-2.

Blanchard (19-4) was masterful in the circle for the Lady Hawks, holding St. Mary's to three hits and fanning five in a complete game effort. She had one misstep, surrendering a two-run homer to Gutierrez in the top of the fourth that spotted St. Mary's a 2-1 lead, but went on to retire the next 10 Rattlers in order to close out the game.

"I have full confidence in our pitchers," said Meacham. "I get as excited as anybody when she strikes somebody out and hits her spots."

Shorter jumped out to an early lead against Gutierrez, who was honored on Wednesday night as an NFCA All-American and finalist for NFCA National Player of the Year.

Kendall Johnson drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the first before stealing second and advancing to third when the throw by Rattlers' catcher Alex Rodriguez sailed wide of second. Bynum followed with her first RBI of the day, lacing a single to left for a 1-0 Shorter lead.

Cook, Shorter's newly minted All-American, and Kameron Carter had two hits apiece for Shorter, which left six runners on base and nearly paid for a missed opportunity to answer Gutierrez's go-ahead homer in the fourth.

A Bynum single sparked three straight hits for the Lady Hawks to load the bases in the bottom half of the frame, but Gutierrez induced an inning-ending double play, preserving the 2-1 lead for her Rattlers.

Shorter stayed hot at the plate, however, answering the bell in the fifth with Meacham pushing across the winning runs.

Gutierrez (28-6), who entered the WCWS with 166 strikeouts in 211 innings, managed just two against Shorter's lineup, all while surrendering nine hits and three earned runs in 4.1 innings. Eight different Lady Hawks recorded at least one hit in the contest.

Tomorrow's game will again be streamed live online via NCAA.com.