ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita softball shut out rival Henderson State 2-0 in game one and dropped game two 5-4 in 10 innings in a doubleheader split on Tuesday evening at Langston Field.
Game One: Ouachita 2, HSU 0
Ouachita got off to a hot start in the low scoring affair with a solo home run from
Erin Williams in the bottom of the first put the Tigers on the board 1-0. Ouachita held Henderson State hitless in the first two innings and only allowed one hit in the top of the third. The Tigers added a second run in the bottom of the third when Bailey King came home thanks to an error by the Reddie first baseman after a failed pick of attempt to put Ouachita up 2-0.
The Tiger defense stood strong in the second half of the game, working its way out of multiple situations where HSU put runners in scoring position and held the Reddies to just three hits in the final four innings, including a three-up-three-down top of the seventh to secure the 2-0 shutout win.
The 2-0 win was the second shutout in a row for the Tigers as they beat Arkansas Tech by the same score just two days earlier. It was another great showing by the Tiger defense as they held Henderson to just four hits.
Hannah Hunter recorded her first complete game shutout of her Tiger career in the circle as the Malvern native pitched the full seven innings a career-high tying six strikeouts to just a single walk in the win.
Lauren Lester with 2-for-3 at the plate and was the only Tiger with multiple hits in the win.
Game Two: HSU 5, Ouachita 4 (10 Innings)
The second game of the midweek doubleheader saw the Reddies strike first with a run in the top of the second. But the Tigers were ready to answer as they plated three runs in the bottom of the second.
Katelyn Provence came home on an error to tie the game 1-1. A sacrifice fly from
Marli Huddleston scored
Karley Burrow to put the Tigers up 2-1 and an RBI single from
Lauren Lester scored
Riley Gillis to make the score 3-1 Ouachita.
Both teams posted scoreless third and fourth innings and Henderson tied things up with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Tigers had an answer again with some smart baserunning. Bailey King stole second while
Emma McCorkle was on third, and King stealing the base baited a throw from the HSU catcher that allowed McCorkle to score to put Ouachita back up 4-3. The Reddies didn't stay down long as they came up with a run in the top of the sixth to tie things back up 4-4. Both teams posted hitless seventh innings to send the game to extra innings.
Extras saw the Tigers get a couple of runners in scoring position in the eighth and tenth innings but could not bring them around to score. Henderson plated one run in the bottom of the tenth to take the lead, and Ouachita couldn't answer this time and fell by the final score of 5-4 in 10 innings. This was the second 10-inning game for the Tigers in four games.
Olivia See, Provence, and Lester each recorded two hits in the loss. Lester, Huddleston, and Gillis each had an RBI.
Kodee Batchelor pitched 4.2 innings in relief and gave up two runs, earning the loss.
Ouachita will head on the road to Ada, Oklahoma to take on the Tigers of East Central University in a three-game series that starts with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 15.
