ADA – After splitting the doubleheader with Arkansas-Monticello at Tiger Field, the East Central University softball team punched their ticket to the 2018 Great American Conference Tournament (May 2-5). The Tigers (21-28-1, 16-23-1 GAC) fell 8-4 in the opening game of the day, before bouncing back to claim an 8-0 shutout win in five innings in the night cap.
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Before the start of game one, ECU honored its two seniors (
Claresha Clemons and
Alissa Taylor).
The Tigers had a strong day at the plate, hitting .365 as a team, with five players hitting .500-or-better. Freshman
Jacey Henry led the group with a .667 average, four hits one run and a double.
In the circle, freshman
Jessica Sisemore claimed her first shutout victory of the season. She allowed just five hits and struck out two.
The teams will play the final two games of the regular-season, Sunday, April 29, with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
ECU 8, UAM 0 (5)
The Tigers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, taking a 1-0 lead. Taylor and Henry singled, allowing freshman
Tarah Hilton to earn an RBI with a single.
ECU really took control in the third inning, scoring five runs to go up 6-0. After the first out, Henry doubled, Clemons walked and Hilton reached on fielder's choice to load the bases. Freshman
Tatiana Bryant hit into another fielder's choice that put the runner out at home, but left the bases loaded.
The first run scored when junior
Chloe Wigington was walked. Junior
Ellanee Allison added two runs with a single to right and the final two runs came across on junior
Aundrea Hamric's single.
ECU kept up the strong defense in the top of the fourth, allowing just the fourth base runner of the game and recording a double-play.
The Tigers then added two runs in the fourth to put the run-rule into effect (8-0). Henry again got the inning started when she earned a one-out walk. Clemons and Ewy were also walked to load the bases. That gave Wigington the final two RBIs with a single to left.
ECU's defense kept strong in the top of the fifth, earning the first two outs before allowing a single. However, that runner was caught stealing to give the Tigers the 8-0 victory.
UAM 8, ECU 4
The teams held each other scoreless through the first two innings, before the Tigers struck first, taking a 2-0 lead in the third. Hamric singled, Taylor was hit by a pitch and sophomore
Catherine Barrera singled to score the first run. Henry then loaded the bases with a single, allowing Clemons to earn the final RBI with a single.
The score remained the same through the fifth inning, before the Blossoms (11-40, 11-29 GAC) were able to get on the board with a single run in the sixth (2-1). However, the seventh inning proved to be the decider, as UAM tallied seven runs to take an 8-2 lead.
ECU was able to plate two more runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-4 final. The Tiger's runs were scored on singles form Taylor and Henry, a fielder's choice from Clemons and two errors by the Blossoms to score the runs.
