ARKADELPHIA - The Ouachita Baptist University softball team took down the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs 6-2 in game three to secure a series win in the Great American Conference opening weekend.
A combination of good pitching, solid defense and timely hits helped lift the Tigers over the Bulldogs to secure their first series win of the season.
The game started out with the Tigers' starting pitcher
Tuesday Melton and the Tiger defense worked their way out of a jam with runners in scoring position, holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the first. Both teams managed a few hits but were held scoreless until the Tigers finally made it on the board in the third.
Erin Williams scored
Katelyn Provence with an RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the third to break up the 0-0 tie. The top of the fourth inning saw SWOSU threaten again with runners on second and third with one out, but Melton forced back-to-back pop-ups to keep the Bulldogs off the board. The Tigers added a run in the bottom of the fourth on a
Lacy Ornelas sacrifice fly that scored
Mackenzie Amaya to put Ouachita up 2-0.
In the fifth inning,
Erin Williams decided she wasn't content with the RBI double earlier and drove one deep out of center field to score Provence again on a two-run home run that put the Tigers up 4-0. After forcing another three-up-three-down inning in the sixth, Ouachita added to their lead again in the bottom half of the sixth. Those runs came on an RBI single from
Jessalyn Ahrens and an RBI double from
Hope Waid that scored
Emma McCorkle and Ahrens respectively. The top of the seventh saw SWOSU plate two runs, but that was not enough for the Bulldogs and the Tigers secured a 6-2 victory that earned the Tigers a series win in the conference opener.
- Tuesday Melton pitched her sixth complete game and earned her fifth win of the season, going the full seven innings with three strikeouts and just two earned runs allowed.
- Erin Williams went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored on a home run and a double. The home run gives Williams the lead on the team with four homers this season.
- Callie Jourdan went 2-for-3 at the plate and currently leads the team in batting average with .459.
- Hope Waid and Jessalyn Ahrens each had a hit and an RBI.
The Tigers will have a few days off before they look to continue their success next weekend. Ouachita will host the University of Arkansas at Monticello in a three game conference series that starts with game one on Friday, March 3 at Sully Anderson Field.
