CONROE, Texas – The Arkansas Tech softball team opened up their 2022 season on Saturday with a pair of games at the ATU Winter Invitational held at Scrap Yard Sports in Conroe, Texas. Tech would drop both games of their twinbill, 4-3 to St. Mary's and 9-3 to No. 22-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
GAME ONE
In the opening game against St. Mary's, Tech scored first with a RBI fielder's choice in Caitlyn Wells' at-bat that scored Shelby-Lynn Chavers. Earlier that inning, Chavers was hit by a pitch, then stole second and ended up at third on a wild pitch, all during the ensuing at-bat, where she scored on Wells' groundball fielder's choice.
 
St. Mary's then stuck back in the top of the next inning with four runs on four hits and a Tech error. That offensive attack in the second by the Rattlers (1-1) was the opposite of what transpired in the top of the first when they went down in order on strikeouts against Golden Suns' (0-2) starter Bailey Buffington.
 
In the bottom of that frame, Tech got one of those runs back on a RBI double by Tymber Riley that scored Kassie Mayberry, who had reached base on a hit-by-pitch earlier in the inning.
 
Maddy Prough entered the circle to start the third and went on to keep the Rattlers off the scoreboard the rest of the game. Over her 5.0 innings of relief, Prough allowed just three hits, one walk and struck out three.
 
The great relief pitching of Prough kept Tech in the game and in the bottom of the third, the Golden Suns trailed by just a run as Brooke Prewitt scored Makenzie Goins on a sacrifice fly. Earlier in the inning, Goins notched a one-out single and then got to third on a double by Holly Crutchfield.
 
In each of the final four innings, Tech would put the potential tying run on base, but were unable to push it across the plate.
 
GAME TWO
In the nightcap, the Golden Suns grabbed a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second innings. The run in the first was a bases loaded walk to Makenzie Addis that scored Chavers. The run in the second was a double to left-center off the bat of Riley that scored Mayberry.
 
The No. 22-ranked Lions then got on the board and took the lead in the third with four runs on three hits. In the fifth, Commerce added a pair of runs to take a 6-2 lead.
 
Tech's third run of the game scored in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI double by Wells that scored Riley.
 
Commerce went on to tack on three more runs with two in the sixth and one in the seventh.
 
The Golden Suns will continue their action at the ATU Winter Invitational on Sunday with games against No. 2-ranked Augustana and Texas Woman's. The game with Auggie is scheduled for Noon and the game with TWU will begin shortly after the conclusion of the Augustana game.