CONROE, Texas – Playing two more games on the second day of the D2 First Pitch Invitational on Saturday, the Arkansas Tech softball team came away with a split as they beat Saint Martin's 7-2 in their first game of the day and then fell to Angelo State 9-6 in the nightcap.
SAINT MARTIN'S
Against Saint Martin's the Golden Suns jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the first. Both runs that inning came with two outs as
Lexi Gorniak and
Riley Drake had consecutive RBI singles. The lead would not last long, however, as the Saints scored twice themselves in the bottom half of the inning.
The Saints started their first inning with three-straight hits, but Golden Suns' starter
Bradi Basler settled in and retired the next three batters in order to end the inning. Basler would go on to hold the Saints scoreless over the remainder of the game as she earned her second win of the season in as many chances.
Basler's final line saw her pitch 7.0 innings, allow two runs on nine hits and strikeout nine while allowing no walks.
Basler was put in position for the win in the circle in the third when the Golden Suns scored two more runs to go up 4-2. In that inning,
Dani Lindsey pushed across the first run of the frame on a triple to right-centerfield which scored
Cora Skaggs, who pinch-ran for
Savannah Snow who singled through the left side moments earlier. Lindsey then scored in the next at-bat on a successful sacrifice bunt by Gorniak.
In the fifth, the Golden Suns added three more runs on three hits to take a comfortable 7-2 lead. Gorniak drove in the first run of the inning for her third of the game. Two batters later,
Sydney Keaton laced a ball back up the middle striking the pitcher on the single. Off the carom, Gorniak and Snow scored.
ANGELO STATE
In the nightcap, the Golden Suns got out to another quick lead as the visiting team with a run thanks to a solo home run by
Savannah Snow. Angelo State answered back in a big way in their half of the first, however, with four runs as they took a 4-1 lead through one inning of play.
The Golden Suns got a run back in the top of the second on a single up the middle by
Shelby Chavers. An inning later, the Golden Suns struck for three runs to take a 5-4 lead. The scoring that inning got started with a RBI double by
Dani Lindsey. After an infield single to shortstop by
Lillee Mahan advanced Lindsey to third, the Golden Suns pulled off a successful double steal scoring Lindsey. On that same play, Mahan swiped second and then thanks to a perfect slide came home to score on a throwing error by Angelo's second baseman.
An inning later, Tech grabbed a two-run lead thanks to a RBI single up the middle by
Kaylyn Aguirre.
The Rambelles would answer in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly and then surged ahead in the fifth with three runs. A single tally by Angelo State in the sixth brought the game to its final score of 9-6.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now have a quick turnaround for their final game of the D2 First Pitch Invitational as they will take on No. 17-ranked Wingate starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.
