ARKADELPHIA – In a five-hour marathon, Ouachita lost the softball series opener to Arkansas Tech Friday night by a final score of 8-4 in 15 innings at Langston Field.
The opener featured 496 combined pitches and 130 plate appearances as both teams traded blows before Arkansas Tech broke through with four decisive runs to seal the road win. The Tigers threatened with multiple opportunities in extras and matched Tech with 11 hits, but were hindered by four errors to fall to 10-22 overall and 6-10 in Great American Conference play. Ouachita was unable to break the deadlock and stranded 17 runners on base as 12 hitters finished a combined 3-for-42 at the plate.
Arkansas Tech (20-8, 13-3 GAC) got help from the bottom of the lineup in the second inning as junior Sharlee Jackson hit a 2-run double into the gap in left-center to put the Golden Suns on the scoreboard.
Sophomore Catie Amador struck out eight hitters on 172 pitches in 12.1 innings. The Tigers were held scoreless through the first five innings until the bats came alive in the sixth. Freshman Alaina Lyle launched a solo blast over the right field wall, then junior Emily Reed followed with a line drive over the short wall in right-center for her tenth homer to level the score at 2-2. Reed went 3-for-6 at the plate with a game-tying opposite field homer.
Arkansas Tech freshman Abby Lowery opened the seventh, ripping a double down the left field line, then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. The Golden Suns reclaimed a 3-2 lead after Jackson lifted a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Lowery from third.
With one out in the seventh, three consecutive Ouachita hitters reached safely to load the bases. The rally was ignited on an infield single beat out by redshirt-senior Remington Adams, who led the Tigers with with a career-high five hits at the plate. With the bases juiced, freshman Addison Davidson lifted a blooper that landed near second base, just beyond the reach of a diving second baseman to tie the game at 3-3 as all runners advanced.
Junior Emily Richarde struck out the following hitter, then forced an infield popout to send the game into extras and gave Tech seven innings of relief. Both teams settled into an intense stalemate for the next five frames before matching each other with one run in the 13th inning. After the lineup flipped over for an eighth time, junior Anna Winkfield beat out an infield single. Winkfield rounded three bases and scored after stealing second, while the throw from home drifted off-line and was deflected into the outfield. Freshman Morgan Uher drew a bases-loaded walk to knot the game for a third time with just one out, but the Tigers could not manufacture the winning run as Tech escaped the walk-off on a force out at the plate.
Ouachita hosts Arkansas Tech for a doubleheader on Saturday. Game 2 has been pushed back to 1 p.m. at Langston Field.
