WEATHERFORD, Okla. – The Ouachita Tigers softball team split a doubleheader with Southwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday to split the series, 2-2. The Tigers scored 20 runs on 27 hits in today's games. The Tigers took game one by a final of 13-12 and fell in game two, 15-7.
Emily Acuna drove in seven runs in game one.
Both teams got on the scoreboard in the second inning. Ouachita's
Gabby Gonzalez hit an infield single with one out.
Emily Acuna followed with a walk, advancing Gonzalez to second. With two outs,
Delaney Bono singled up the middle, scoring Gonzalez and giving Ouachita a 1-0 lead.
Southwestern responded with five runs off a pair of home runs to take a 5-1 lead. They extended the lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the third.
Alex Jennings led off the fourth inning with a double and moved to third on a single by Gonzalez. Gonzalez's hustle allowed her to move to second on the play. Acuna followed with a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Jennings and advancing Gonzalez. Gonzalez scored the Tigers second run of the inning on a RBI single by Bono.
The Bulldogs added two runs to their lead in the bottom half of the inning. Ouachita entered the fifth inning trailing 8-3.
A five-run fifth inning from the Tigers tied the game at 8-8.
Sarah Johnson led the inning off with a walk.
Daniella Brantley followed with a double to center field. Jennings hit her second-consecutive double to score Johnson and move Brantley to third. A walk to Gonzalez loaded the bases with no outs.
Emily Acuna crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall for a grand-slam, tying the game at 8-8.
A two-out triple in the bottom of the fifth allowed SWOSU to regain the lead 10-8. However, the Tigers scored two in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 10-10. Acuna singles up the middle with two outs to score Johnson and Brantley. The hit gave Acuna her sixth and seventh RBI of the game.
SWOSU again answered in the bottom half of the inning, this time scoring two unearned runs to retake the lead 12-10.
With two outs in the top of the seventh,
Macy Nantz singles up the middle. Johnson and Brantley each singled to load the bases for
Alex Jennings. On a 0-1 pitch, Jennings crushed a double to center, her third of the game, clearing the bases and giving the Tigers a 13-12 lead.
Kelsey O'Brien pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh to earn her second save of the season. Nantz picked the victory, her sixth of the season.
Ouachita jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After singles by Nantz and Johnson, Jennings followed with a single to right, driving in Nantz. Johnson scored on the play after a throwing error by the right fielder.
SWOSU scored two runs in their half of the first to tie the game at 2-2. Ouachita answered in the top of the second inning.
Paige Purifoy and Bono led off the inning with singles. Purifoy scored from second after
Kelly Powell reached base on throwing error by the SWOSU catcher. Bono scored on a double steal attempt to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead.
Ouachita added a run in the top of third on a RBI single from Gonzalez and led 6-3 heading into the bottom of the fourth after Powell scored on single to center by Nantz. SWOSU broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring seven runs on six hits to take a 10-6 lead.
A solo homerun by
Gabby Gonzalez in the top of the fifth would plate the Tigers final run of the game. SWOSU scored four in the fifth and one in sixth to take game two by a final of 15-7. The Tigers finished game two with 12 hits, including two each from Nantz, Johnson, Jennings and Gonzalez.
The Tigers return home on Tuesday, April 12. They'll face rival Henderson State at Sully Anderson Field.
