CONWAY, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech softball team endured rainy conditions and cool weather on Saturday afternoon and came away with a doubleheader sweep of East Central, winning the first game 3-2 and then the second game by a score of 6-3. The twinbill sweep also gave the Golden Suns an overall series sweep as they won 10-4 on Friday night.
GAME ONE
In the opening game on Saturday, the Golden Suns (5-2, 3-0 GAC) got another solid start in the circle from true freshman
Shannon Lasey. The right-handed native of Dover, went the distance once more as she picked up her second complete game victory in as many starts. In her 7.0 innings of work, Lasey limited the Tigers (4-5, 0-3 GAC) to just two runs (one earned) on two hits. She also matched her season-high in strikeouts with six.
The offensive support of Lasey came in the third and sixth innings. In the third, the Golden Suns scored a pair of runs to take what at that time was a 2-1 lead.
In that innings,
Tymber Riley led off with a hit-by-pitch.
Makenzie Goins then dropped down a perfect bunt that she was able to beat out for a single while also advancing Riley to second. Following a fielder's choice that kept it runners at second and first,
Caitlyn Wells hammered a double to left field that scored Goins. A batter later,
Holly Crutchfield drove in
Makenzie Addis as she reached first on a fielder's choice following her well-placed sacrifice bunt.
The Tigers were able to tie the game in the fourth inning at 2-all on an unearned run.
That score remained until the sixth inning when the Golden Suns took a one-run lead on a Goins fielder's choice RBI. Prior to that,
McKenzie Harrish led off with a double to left field. She was then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by
Brooke Prewitt. Following a walk to Riley, Goins laced a ball into centerfield that was nearly caught. That forced Riley to hesitate and eventually get thrown out at second for the fielder's choice. Despite not getting the hit, Goins still got credit for the go-ahead RBI that turned out to be the game-winning RBI as well.
GAME TWO
In the second game, the Golden Suns jumped out to a 4-0 lead through three innings. The first run scored in the bottom of the second and came on the play where
Reisa Bakenhus singled to centerfield. On that single, Crutchfield, who led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Morgan Page, got to third and then scored on a bad throw in by the Tigers' centerfielder.
In the third, the Golden Suns struck for three runs on three hits. The first run was scored on a RBI single up the middle by Wells. The second came home on a sacrifice fly by Page, while the third crossed the plate on a single to right field off the bat of Bakenhus.
After the completion of the third inning, thunderstorms rolled through the vicinity and prompted about an hour delay.
Upon resumption, the Tigers pushed across their first run in the top of the fourth to make it a 4-1 game. The Golden Suns responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the fifth on another RBI single by Bakenhus.
The Tigers plated two more runs in the top of the sixth to pull within a pair of runs, 5-3. The Golden Suns would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Addis. That run proved to be all insurance needed as
Maddy Prough was able close the door in the top of the seventh for her second save of the year.
The winning pitcher for the Suns was
Robyn Bales as he came on in relief in the top of the fourth.
Lexy Taylor was the starting pitcher and pitched up until the rain and lightning delay.
The Golden Suns will now prepare for a big-time road test next weekend as they are scheduled to travel to Magnolia to take on No. 1-ranked Southern Arkansas in a three-game series starting on Friday, March 5.
