RUSSELLVILLE, ARK. – The East Central University softball team and Arkansas Tech fought through two defense heavy games.  Arkansas Tech earned the win in game one 0-3 and then the teams went 11 innings in the second game, with ATU claiming the 0-1 victory.

The Tigers (19-15, 10-12 GAC) were held to a .136 team batting average and allowed a .214 mark in the games, with just one player hitting over. 275 on the day.  Junior Alissa Taylor was the top producer with a .286 average and two hits.

Senior Kelbie Crelia threw the first game, striking out six batters.  Freshman Sierra Skaggs went the entire time in game two, allowing six hits and one run, while earning two strikeouts.

The teams will wrap up the series, Saturday, April 1 with a doubleheader set to start at noon.

ATU 3, ECU 0
The opening game of the day was a defensive battle, with the teams combining for just seven hits (one by ECU) and just three runs.

The Tigers got two runners on in the top of the first, with two walks, but was unable to score.

The Golden Suns (22-12, 16-6 GAC) then used three hits and two walks to score the only runs of the game and take a 0-3 lead in the bottom of the first.

Both teams then buckled down and kept the score the same the rest of the game.  ECU was finally able to get a hit in the top of the seventh, with a single from freshman Jaclyn Willis.

ATU 1, ECU 0 (11)
The second game continued in the same strong defensive battle as the first.  The teams were both able to get hits and runners on the base in several innings, but did not allow a run to score in the normal seven innings.

The teams combined for 11 hits during the first seven innings, but left 12 runners stranded to force the extra time.

Both teams had chances to score in the first three extra innings, but it took until the bottom of the 11^th before ATU claimed the win with a walk-off home run.