BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech softball team closed out their weekend at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic in Bentonville with wins over Lincoln and Wayne State. The two wins on Sunday give Tech an unblemished 4-0 weekend as they previously beat Quincy and Missouri-St. Louis on Friday.
GAME ONE
In the game against Lincoln, the Golden Suns found themselves trailing the Blue Tigers 2-0 through three innings as Lincoln scored twice in the top of the third. In the bottom of the fourth, however, the Golden Suns got their bats going and plated three runs on three hits to take a 3-2 lead.
With one out,
Makenzie Addis hit a solo home run.
Jessica Williams then followed with a single in the next at-bat. That base hit for Williams was just ahead of
Kassie Mayberry's first collegiate home run, accounting for the rest of the scoring that inning for Tech.
In the half inning prior to Tech taking the lead, the Golden Suns made a pitching change and brought on
Bailey Buffington. Buffington was great in relief and allowed just one hit and held the Blue Tigers scoreless over the final 4.0 innings as she ultimately earned her third win of the season.
The Golden Suns plated their fourth and final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth as Mayberry scored on an error by Lincoln's shortstop.
GAME TWO
After a scoreless first inning, Tech took complete control of the game and scored five runs on three hits while also taking advantage of two Wayne State errors.
In the top of the second, Tech scored their first run on a single by
Brooke Prewitt. Four batters later,
Tymber Riley drove in a run on a bases loaded single.
Makenzie Goins followed that with a hard-earned RBI as she was hit-by-a-pitch with the bases still loaded.
Caitlyn Wells then drove in two on a single.
The third inning was also scoreless, but Tech powered their way to three more runs in the fourth on the strength of a three-run home run by
Holly Crutchfield. An inning later,
Chloe Bryant collected her first career RBIs with a two-run single. That pushed Tech's lead out to 10-0.
In position to end the game early via the run-rule, Tech turned to
Kaila Cartwright out of the bullpen for the final inning.
Maddy Prough made the start and picked up her first win after going 4.0 innings and allowing no runs on just two hits. She also struck out five. Cartwright also had an unblemished inning of work, allowing one hit and striking out one.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now prepare for another big weekend of in-region games as they will take part in the Edmond Regional Festival. Over that weekend, the Golden Suns are set to play six games and will open the weekend with games against Fort Hays State and Cameron on Friday afternoon.
