ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The East Central University baseball team split the final two games of the Great American Conference series at Ouachita Baptist.  The Tigers (2-21, 1-14 GAC) first picked up an 11-10 victory before falling 7-6 in the series finale.
ECU was led by senior Trevor Crone and sophomore Dakota Washington, both hitting over .500 for the day.  Crone hit .600, with three hits, three runs and three RBIs.  Washington added a .500 average, five hits, four runs and an RBI.

Sophomore Wyatt Austin earned the win on the mound, throwing the final 1.2 innings of the opening game.  Austin allowed two hits and one run, while striking out two.

The Tigers will next be in action, Tuesday, March 20 with a non-conference game at Southeastern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m.

ECU 11, Ouachita 10
The Tigers started the game with three runs in the first inning.  Sophomore Cale Ridling started the inning with a hit by pitch, senior Bryce Dimitroff singled and junior Yan-Eric Tremblay was walked to load the bases.  The first two outs were then recorded.

It then looked like the third out was recorded, but after striking out sophomore Ryan White reached due to a wild pitch, which allowed the first run to score.  Sophomore Hayden George kept the inning alive with a single that scored the final two runs.

ECU then added three more runs in the second for a 6-0 lead.  Dimitroff hit a one-out double and advanced to third when Tremblay singled.  That allowed him to score on a wild pitch.  Washington singled and when to second on a wild pitch that scored Tremblay.  White drove in the final run of the inning with a single.

Ouachita started their come-back in the third, with a single run, but the Tigers earned the run back, with a solo home run by Crone, in the top of the fourth for a 7-1 score.

Ouachita then added a run in the fourth and fifth to cut the advantage to 7-3.

ECU countered with two runs in the sixth on two walks and three fielder's choices for a 9-3 score.

However, Ouachita got three runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the disadvantage to 9-6.

The Tigers added one more run in the seventh for a 10-6 lead when Tremblay doubled and Washington singled.

Ouachita then got more serious and tied the game at 10, with three runs in the bottom of the seventh and one in the eighth.

It looked like the teams would go into the final half inning tied, but after two outs and Tremblay reaching due to a hit by pitch Crone doubled to give the Tigers an 11-10 lead.

Despite a walk allowed in the bottom of the ninth, ECU's defense held strong to claim the 11-10 victory.

Ouachita 7, ECU 6
Ouachita started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, going ahead 3-0.  However, ECU countered with four runs in the top of the second for a 4-3 advantage.

Washington started the inning with a single and Crone and freshman Garrett Oldham were walked to load the bases.  Junior Marcus Sonnier then earned two RBIs with a single and the final two runs came across on a Ridling single.

Ouachita then took a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the second.  ECU slowly pushed back with run in the third and one in the fifth to tie the game at six.

The Tigers were held scoreless in the sixth, but Ouachita was able to plate a run to take a 7-6 lead into the final inning.  ECU was able to get two runners on in the top of the seventh, but was not able to get a run across the plate for the 7-6 loss.