ARKADELPHIA — Ouachita rode a pair of dominant performances at the plate and in the circle to take control and win both games 7-0 over Northwestern Oklahoma State in Friday's doubleheader, claiming the home series at Langston Field.
The Tigers broke Game 2 open and scored in each of their final four at-bats. Freshman Addison Davidson sparked a two-out rally in the third with a single through the left side to move the runner into scoring position, then senior Jessalyn Ahrens followed with a two-run double into the left-center gap to give Ouachita an early lead.
Ouachita added a pair of runs to extend the lead in the fourth inning. Junior Jordyn Merrett beat out an infield single and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Freshman Reagan McCoy poked an RBI triple to right-center, then later scored on a sacrifice bunt by redshirt-senior Remington Adams.
Davidson opened the fifth with a single to left field, then scored on Ahrens' RBI double to left. Ahrens led the Tigers, going 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI in the win. Ouachita slugger Emily Reed stamped the victory in the sixth, blasting a two-run homer well over the left-center field wall and slammed the bat down before rounding the bases to set a single-season program record with the 14th home run of her junior campaign.
Junior Karley Burrow (5-3) earned the win with a complete-game shutout, limiting the Rangers to just three hits to even the series and force a rubber match. In the series finale, sophomore Catie Amador delivered a historic performance tossing her first career no-hitter, while striking out eight against one walk. It marked the sixth no-hitter in program history and the first no-no thrown in seven years. Over her last 10 outings, Amador (9-11) has posted a 1.11 ERA with 50 strikeouts across 69.1 innings. She has compiled seven complete games, two shutouts, one no-hitter and one save during that stretch.
Reed stayed scorching hot in the finale, launching a two-run homer to dead center in the first inning before adding her third homer of the day beyond the center field wall in the sixth, which was also her 16th homer this season to put the game out of reach. Freshman Ryleigh Stinson came off the bench and ripped a solo home run over the center field wall to extend the lead in the fifth. Adams, along with freshmen Morgan Uher and Alaina Lyle strung together three consecutive base hits, with Lyle pulling a two-run double down the right-field line to seize full control. The Tigers improved to 16-27 overall and 12-15 in Great American Conference play, while the Rangers fell to 12-33 and 5-22 in league action.
Ouachita returns back to the diamond in a home doubleheader on Tuesday against Central Baptist, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. at Langston Field.
