BETHANY, Okla. – The Arkansas Tech softball team bounced back from a tough one-run loss in extra innings on Thursday with a doubleheader sweep against Southern Nazarene on Friday. The Golden Suns would win the first game, 3-1 and then the second game, 2-1.
The two wins pushed the Golden Suns over the 30-win mark on the season, marking the 11
th time in program history.
GAME ONE
In the opener, the Golden Suns got on the board first with a single run in the top of the second inning on a RBI single from
Riley Drake. Drake would go on to finish the game 3-for-3 with that RBI and a run scored.
Her run came in the top of the seventh and provided insurance as SNU had pulled within a run of Tech's 2-0 lead as they scored their lone run in the bottom of the sixth. In between Drake's RBI in the second and run scored in the seventh, the Golden Suns got a run in the top of the sixth on a solo home run from
Aubree Jones.
Those three runs of support were enough
Ainslee Moore as she pitched a complete game. She would scatter eight hits, walk none and strike out six.
GAME TWO
The second game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Crimson Storm got a solo home run. That lead did not last long, however, as the Golden Suns came back in the next half inning and scored a pair of runs on three hits to go up 2-1.
Drake led the inning off with a double and was pinch-ran for by Brinley Bancroft. Two batters after Drake's double,
Anna Winkfield singled to third base to advance Bancroft to third with one out.
Miya Curry then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Bancroft.
Jones then extended the inning with a four-pitch walk. That allowed for
Aly White to come up to plate. She would come through with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning hit as she singled to right to score Winkfield.
Emily Richarde, the current GAC Pitcher of the Week, then put the finishing touches on the start to give the Golden Suns the win. Richarde would allow just two hits and one run with no walks and nine strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Golden Suns will now prepare for a series at home next weekend against Oklahoma Baptist. The series is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 17 from the Chartwells Women's Sports Complex.
