ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita softball team held off a late rally by East Central to win the rubber match 5-4 and secure the series win to close out the first weekend of GAC play.
Ouachita (8-7, 2-1 GAC) started off strong in the Sunday series final against East Central (8-6, 1-2 GAC). After getting out of bases load jam in the top of the first, the purple Tiger offense got going in the bottom of the frame. Bailey King hit a one-out single to get things moving and
Emily Reed followed it up with a homer to right field, her third of the season, putting Ouachita up 2-0.
The purple Tigers added a third run in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI single from
Callie Kilburn that scored
Jessalyn Ahrens to push the lead to three. Later,
Jordyn Merrett led off the bottom of third inning with a long ball to center field, giving the purple Tigers a four-run lead. Ouachita's fifth run came later that inning thanks to an RBI single from
Karley Burrow that scored King for the second time and put the Tigers up by five after just three innings.
Ouachita held East Central scoreless through three innings before the orange Tigers broke up the shutout bid with a single run in the fourth. ECU plated a second run in the fifth to cut Ouachita's lead to 5-2. After a scoreless six from both sides, East Central was down to its final three outs.
In the top of the seventh, ECU loaded the bases with one out. A groundout to the pitcher added a run for East Central, making it a 5-3 ballgame. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases a second time and drove in a run, cutting it to just a one-run lead for Ouachita. A flyout to right field ended the game and Ouachita escaped the late rally 5-4 to claim a 2-1 weekend series victory.
King, Ahrens, and Kilburn each recorded two hits in the win. King added two runs scored and Ahrens added one with their two hits, and Kilburn included an RBI.
Reed went 1-for-1 with a walk, a two-RBI homer, and a sacrifice bunt in the win.
Catie Amador earned her fourth win of the season after throwing 5.1 innings with just one earned run allowed.
Kilburn came in to record the final out, earning the Hensley, Arkansas native her first collegiate save.
The purple Tigers will look to keep the success moving when they travel to Searcy, Arkansas to take on the No. 17 Bisons of Harding in a three-game series set to start with a double header on Friday, February 28 at 4 p.m.
