ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The East Central University softball team ended up going 3-1 against Ouachita after splitting the second day in the Great American Conference series. The Tigers (17-11, 8-8 GAC) started with a come-from-behind 5-4 win in game one and then fell 3-7.
ECU was paced by sophomore
Madison Thompson hit 1.000 for the day, with five hits and two RBIs. Sophomore
Mariah Ewy added a .571 mark, four hits, one run and one RBI.
Freshman
Sierra Skaggs earned the win in the circle, throwing four innings and allow four hits and two runs.
The Tigers will now return home for a four-game GAC series against Henderson State, March 24-25 at Tiger Field.
ECU 5, Ouachita 4
In the opening game, Ouachita (11-17, 5-11 GAC) took the early 0-2 lead and held the Tigers scoreless until the fifth inning.
However, when ECU got started they garnered five runs to gain the 5-2 lead. Redshirt sophomore
Aundrea Hamric started the inning with a single and after two outs Barrera doubled to put runners on second and third. Thompson sent both runs home with a single up the middle to tie the score at two.
Sophomore
Breecia Crawford kept the inning going by drawing a walk and the bases were loaded with a single from Ewy. That allowed one run to score when sophomore
Caitlin Paolini reached due to an error and two more when freshman
Lindsae Walker singled.
Ouachita did not go away quietly and scored a run in the sixth to cut the lead to two (5-3) and then had the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh, but they were only able to score one more run for the 5-4 final.
Ouachita 7, ECU 3
The Tigers got on the scoreboard first in the second game, but it took until the fourth to gain one run for the lead. Thomason singled and was sent to second on a sacrifice bunt from Crawford. That allowed Ewy to earn an RBI with a single to right.
Ouachita then had a very strong fifth inning, scoring seven runs for the 1-7 advantage.
ECU added two more runs to its total in the sixth, but that would be all for the 3-7 final.
Thompson started the inning with a double before the next two batter were sent back to the dugout. Paolini sent the first run home with a single to center and after a wild pitch put a runner in scoring position, junior
Claresha Clemons sent in the final run with a single.