BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech softball team split their day of the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Saturday, losing to Newman 6-3 in the first game and beating Northwest Missouri, 9-6 in the second game.
NEWMAN
Against Newman, the Golden Suns fell behind early as the Jets scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning on two hits. Two innings later, it was 4-0 Newman as they scored single runs in the second and third innings.
The Golden Suns cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth as they scored a pair of runs on two hits.
Caroline Wilhelm led the inning off with a single to left. She then stole second and was later driven in on a double to left field off the bat of
Maycie Hardy.
Anna Winkfield then laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to score Hardy for the second run of the inning.
Newman would get one of those runs back in their half of the fourth.
In the fifth, the Golden Suns collected a two-out RBI from Wilhelm as she singled home
Lexi Gorniak, who had singled two batters earlier. Newman negated that run with an unearned one of their own in the bottom of the frame to bring the score to its eventual final of 6-3.
NORTHWEST MISSOURI
In the second game, Tech fell behind early 1-0 as Northwest Missouri scored a run in the top of the first, but the Golden Suns answered back with two of their own in the bottom of the frame. Both of their runs were unearned as the Golden Suns took advantage of a Bearcat error.
Northwest Missouri tied the score in the top of the second. That score would hold until the bottom of the fourth when Tech scored three runs on four hits.
Savannah Snow led the inning off with a single and was followed by a single from
Kacie Gibbins.
The Bearcats got the next two outs to put the run-scoring chances in jeopardy, but the Golden Suns came through with consecutive RBI hits as
Maycie Hardy hit a RBI single followed by a two-RBI double by Winkfield.
Northwestern clawed their way back into the game and tied it at five-all in the top of the sixth after two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Golden Suns responded with four runs on three hits to go up 9-5. That inning was started with a leadoff walk to Gibbins.
Caroline Wilhelm then singled to move Gibbins to second.
Aly White, who was the pitcher in the circle for the Golden Suns helped her own cause as she doubled home Gibbins and Wilhelm. Hardy then traded places with White for the third run of the frame. After a groundout moved Hardy to third, she scored on another groundout for the fourth run.
With a four-run lead heading into the top of the seventh, the Golden Suns allowed one run to score, but ultimately closed out the 9-6 win.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now prepare for a tough weekend of games as they will take part in the Raising Cane's Softball Festival, co-hosted by Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene.
