ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita softball team dropped its Senior Day doubleheader to Southwestern Oklahoma State University by a combined two runs on Saturday afternoon at Langston Field.
Game One: Southwestern Oklahoma 5, Ouachita 4
Ouachita found itself behind early in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader as Southwestern Oklahoma State struck first in the top of the opening frame. SWOSU added to its lead in the second inning with a three-run home run to go up 4-0 in the second.
The Tigers scratched a run back in the third inning on an RBI single from
Katelyn Provence that scored
Bella Roseberry to cut into the early deficit. The Bulldogs picked up another run in the fourth inning to go back up by four runs before the Ouachita offense found a spark in the fifth.
The Tiger rally started when
Kyndall Fomby-Bell and
Olivia See were able to score off a SWOSU error on a ball hit by
Baylee King to make it a two-run game. Two batters later,
Remington Adams came up with an RBI sacrifice fly to score Provence and cut the deficit to just one run. However, Ouachita's rally ended there, and the Tigers were held scoreless over the final two innings to fall by the final score of 5-4.
Three Tigers, King, Roseberry, and Provence each recorded two hits in the loss to lead the team.
Karley Burrow got the start, struck out three, and gave up two earned runs in 3.1 innings of work, but earned the loss.
Maggi Huddleston threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief allowing just three hits.
Kodee Batchelor pitched the final inning with one strikeout and zero hits.
Game Two: Southwestern Oklahoma 4, Ouachita 3 (8 innings)
Southwestern struck first again in the day's second game with one run in the second inning. But this time, Ouachita answered in a big way in the bottom of the third inning. The Tigers loaded the bases with no outs and
Marli Huddleston delivered with a bases-clearing double to put Ouachita on top 3-1.
From there, SWOSU managed to tie the game at 3-3 after plating runs in the fifth and sixth inning. Both sides went scoreless in the seventh to send the game to extra innings. The Bulldogs took the lead with a run in the top of the eighth. Ouachita could not complete the comeback and fell by the final score of 4-3 in extras.
King was the lone Tiger to record more than one hit in the loss.
Marli Huddleston led all players in RBI with three.
Catie Amador got the start and threw 5.0 innings with five strikeouts.
Prior to the games today, Ouachita recognized seven seniors in their final home games of their career. Those six were:
Jessalyn Ahrens,
Mackenzie Amaya,
Kyndall Fomby-Bell,
Maggi Huddleston,
Marli Huddleston,
Tuesday Melton, and
Katelyn Provence. All seven of the seniors have played large roles for the Tigers in their time at Ouachita.
The Tigers will look to get back on track next week when they travel to Oklahoma to take on Northwestern Oklahoma State in a three-game GAC series set to start with a doubleheader on Thursday, April 17 at 1 p.m. in Alva.
