MONTICELLO, Arkansas – The Ouachita softball team used a six-run fifth inning to power past the University of Arkansas-Monticello Cotton Blossoms by the score of 8-1 Sunday afternoon.
Sunday's game was played at Monticello High School due to heavy rains over the past several days in Arkadelphia and most of the state.
Despite the weather and location change, Ouachita got off to a good start when a
Marli Huddleston sacrifice fly scored
Katelyn Provence to put the Tigers up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. The Tigers held Arkansas-Monticello scoreless in the second, but UAM tied things up on an RBI single in the third.
After a scoreless fourth inning, the Ouachita offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Remington Adams got the scoring started with a two-RBI single scoring Provence and
Baylee King and putting Ouachita up 3-1. Adams was then brought home on an RBI double from
Jessalyn Ahrens, making it a 4-1 ballgame.
Jordyn Merrett followed with an RBI single to score Ahrens and put the Tigers up by four. The final runs of the six-run inning came from
Karley Burrow, as the Paragould, Arkansas native crushed a pinch-hit home run to right center to score herself and Merrett, putting Ouachita in front by the score of 7-1.
The Tigers added an eighth run in the bottom of the sixth inning when
Baylee King was able to score from first after a stolen base attempt thanks to two errors by the UAM defense. The Blossoms put runners in scoring position in the seventh, but Ouachita held them scoreless to secure the 8-1 victory in game one and take a 1-0 lead in the weekend series.
Catie Amador earned her 10
th win of the season in the circle. The Freshman from Burleson, Texas pitched a complete 7.0 innings, gave up just one run on five hits and tied a season-high with seven strikeouts. Amador is the first Tiger pitcher to record 10 wins in a single season since Marissa Bulter in 2019.
Three Tigers recorded multiple hits in the series opener win. King,
Emily Reed, and Merrett each tallied two hits. King went 2-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Merrett and Reed each went 2-for-4 at the plate, with Merrett adding an RBI and a run scored.
Burrow went 1-for-1 with two RBI thanks to her second homer of the season. Adams also tied with Burrow for the team lead in RBI with two.
The Tigers will be going for the series win tomorrow with games two and three of the weekend series against UAM. The doubleheader is scheduled to be back at Ouachita's Langston Field with the first pitch set for 2 p.m.
