Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
ADA, Okla.- Friday's softball doubleheader between the Lady Tigers of East Central University and the Lady Tigers of Ouachita Baptist University was a tough one for the away team. The Lady Tigers of Ouachita fell in the first game by a score of 4-1, before dropping the second one to East Central in a 9-6 final.
 
The first game of the day saw East Central striking first, with a pop-up scoring a runner and giving them an early 1-0 lead.  Ouachita fired back in the fourth inning though, when Bailey Sanders singled through the left side of the infield and tied the game at 1-1 when she scored Nici Starkey on the play.
 
East Central put the game away in the fourth and fifth though, as they recorded a home run in the fourth, as well as an RBI single and an RBI double in the fifth to give them a 4-1 win.
 
Ouachita was led by Sanders, who finished 1-of-3 in the game but recorded the only RBI for her team.
 
East Central's Autumn Suydam recorded two runs scored and an RBI en route to a 2-of-3 performance on the day.
 
Abbi Frakes took the loss for Ouachita despite recording seven strikeouts, while East Central's Lacy Paulk took the win in an 11 strikeout performance.
 
East Central was again the first team to score in the second contest, notching two runs in the bottom of the first off of an RBI single and a walk that forced a runner home.
 
Ouachita got their first run of the game in the third inning, when Megan Askew scored Brianne Baley on an RBI double, making the score 2-1 in favor of East Central.
 
East Central was just getting started though, as they put up another three runs in the fourth inning, with a 2 RBI single and an error by Ouachita.
 
Inning five found Ouachita trying to close a 5-1 gap. They scored a run, but were unable to bring in runners, which they had at second and third. Kailey Madden recorded an RBI in the inning, with Baley again crossing home plate for the run.
 
East Central answered the Ouachita run, with a solo home run that made the score 6-2.
 
A 2-RBI single from Teresa Mursuli in the sixth made the score 5-4, but East Central again fired back, this time scoring three runs in the bottom half of the inning and making the score 9-4.
 
Bailey Sanders led off the top of the seventh with a single, which was followed by a two-run homer from Michaela Hopkins, cutting the margin to just three runs. East Central then made a pitching change, with Ali Manship coming in and putting a halt to Ouachita's rally with two strikeouts and a forced fly out to right field.
 
The pair of Lady Tigers face off again on Saturday in another doubleheader, which will begin at 1 p.m. in Ada.
 
-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director