BETHANY, Okla. – The Arkansas Tech softball team opened the Great American Conference portion of their schedule on Friday afternoon on the road at Southern Nazarene but suffered a 9-1 loss in five innings.
Through the first inning of play, the Golden Suns found themselves back on their heels a bit after Southern Nazarene retired Tech in order in the top of the first and then struck for three runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the second, the Golden Suns score their lone run of the game on a solo home run off the bat of
Sydney Keaton. SNU got that run back in their half of the second to go back up by three and then broke the game open in the third with four runs on four hits.
The Crimson Storm then scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth on a solo home run to push their lead out to eight runs, 9-1.
Looking to extend the game beyond five innings, the Golden Suns got a leadoff double by Keaton. She was then pinch-ran for by Lillie Mahan who, two batters later, made third on a single to right field by Kacie Gibbons. The Crimson Storm's starting pitcher Janie Worthington beared down and retired the next two Tech batters in order to preserve the run-rule win.
The Golden Suns and Crimson Storm will conclude their three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled for Noon.
