RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep of Northeastern State on Sunday afternoon and did so without allowing a run in either game.
In the opener, the Golden Suns won 8-0 in five innings and in that game, senior pitcher
Alexis Findley pitched a no-hitter, her second career and the 20
th in program history. In the second game,
Aly White recorded her first career complete game shutout as Tech won 1-0.
GAME ONE
In the opener, the Golden Suns struck early a run in the first and two in the second to go up 3-0. The run in the first was driven in by
Kacie Gibbins as she singled into left field to score
Maycie Hardy, who doubled two batters earlier.
In the second,
Lexi Gorniak led off the inning on a fielding error by the Northeastern State pitcher. The Golden Suns then got back-to-back perfectly executed bunt singles from
Anna Winkfield and
Addy Ward, loading the bases with no outs.
AJ Fike then drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The second run of the inning came home on a double steal attempt with runners on the corners, scoring Winkfield from third.
The Golden Suns then put the game completely away in the bottom of the fourth as they scored five runs on five hits to put the game in position for a run-rule.
Winkfield got things going in earnest for the Golden Suns in the inning as she singled through the left side with one out. Ward then singled to left-centerfield, bringing Fike to the plate. Already with a RBI to her ledger, Fike added three more on one swing of the bat as she hit a three-run home run out centerfield.
After a pitching change,
Sadie Turner greeted the reliever with a sharp single up the middle. She was then pinch-ran for by
Brooklyn Haney, who promptly stole second base. A single to left by Hardy pushed Haney to third. On that single, Hardy was head's up and took second as the RiverHawks looked to make the play on Haney at third.
Savannah Snow then drove in Haney as she reached on an error by the Northeastern shortstop. With Snow at first, the Golden Suns pinch-ran for her with
Neveah Wilson. The Golden Suns then pulled up another double steal, this time successfully swiping both bases as Hardy scored the all-important eighth run of the game.
That big run cushion was more than enough for starter
Alexis Findley as she would waste little time in retiring the RiverHawks in order to secure her second no-hitter as Golden Sun.
GAME TWO
The second game of the day resulted in another shutout for the Golden Suns, but this time it was backed by just a single run that scored in the bottom of the first inning.
In the bottom of the first,
Maycie Hardy got on base with a one-out single to left. She then took second on a wild pitch to move her into scoring position. After the second out of the inning was made, the Golden Suns scored their lone run of the game on some head's up baserunning on an infield single by
Kacie Gibbins.
The ball that Gibbins put in play was a slow grounder to short, and with Hardy already at second with two outs, Golden Suns head coach
Jordon Jones, who was at third base coaching at the time, sent Hardy home in the hopes of what transpired would actually take place.
It proved to be a great aggressive call as Gibbins beat out a relatively close play at first, which took the attention away from Hardy long enough for her to score.
That single run was held up by freshman pitcher
Aly White, who was great in the start. She would have to pitch out of a jam in the top of the seventh as Northeastern State had the potential tying run at third and the potential go-ahead run at second after an error and a single were followed by a successful sacrifice bunt.
Undeterred by the situation, however, White got a three-pitch strikeout of the next batter she faced and then a line drive out to right to complete the shutout.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now prepare to open their Great American Conference schedule this coming weekend. They will do so on the road at Northwestern Oklahoma. The series is slated to begin with a doubleheader on Friday.
