ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech softball team showed no signs of fatigue on Saturday after emerging victorious in Friday night's 15-inning marathon game as the Golden Suns won both ends of the doubleheader at Ouachita Baptist, 9-0 in five innings and 3-2.
The DH sweep gave the Golden Suns a series sweep, their fifth of the year, and ran their winning streak to 12 games.
GAME ONE
In the opening game, the Golden Suns got their offense rolling right away as
Anna Winkfield hit a leadoff home run to start the game. They would go on to score seven runs over the next two innings with three scoring in the second and four scoring in the third.
Aaliyah Dixon led off the second inning with a walk. After the first out was recorded, Dixon stole second.
Victoria Hughes then drew a walk and on that final pitch, Dixon was able to make third on a passed ball. Hughes would be pinch-ran for by Brinley Bancroft. Bancroft and Dixon then executed a double steal as Dixon scored the first run of the inning.
Bancroft then came around to score in the next at-bat on a single by
Riley Drake and a fielding error by the Ouachita left fielder. Three batters later,
Aubree Jones singled home Winkfield who had previously reached on an error by the Ouachita centerfielder.
In the third, Dixon got things going again with walk, this time with one out. Shortly after the walk, she scored on a two-run home run from
Destiney Madewell. Later in the frame,
Miya Curry doubled home a pair of runs as she split the gap in left-center.
In the fourth, Madewell collected her third RBI of the game and gave Tech their ninth and final run as she drove in pinch-runner
AJ Fike on a single to left.
All the runs were in support of Ainsley Moore, who moved to 7-0 on the season. Moore would pitch a shutout in the 5.0 inning run-rule shortened game. She would scatter three hits, walk two and strikeout two.
GAME TWO
Ouachita wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard in game two after being shutout in the opener on Saturday as the Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the first, racing out to a 2-0 lead.
That score held until the top of the fourth when the Golden Suns tied it up on the strength of a two-run home run off the bat of
Aly White.
Neither team would score in the fifth and sixth innings as the game remained tied at 2-all heading into the seventh.
In that top of the seventh, the Golden Suns applied pressure immediately as Madewell reached on a throwing error by the Ouachita third baseman. Madewell was then pinch-ran for by
Lexi Gunter, who quickly moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from
Sharlee Jackson.
After a ground out was recorded for the second out, the Golden Suns got a clutch hit from Winkfield as she singled up the middle, scoring Gunter from second.
Ouachita would not go quietly in the bottom of the frame as they had the bases loaded with two outs thanks to a pair of walks and a single. Fortunately for the Golden Suns, reliever
Emily Richarde was able to work out of that jam and got a fielder's choice to end the inning and the game.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now take a brief hiatus from conference action and will travel to Cleveland, Miss. for a midweek doubleheader at Delta State on Tuesday, March 31. First-pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
