DURANT, OKLA. – The East Central University softball team fell in the first Great American Conference games of the 2018 season against arch rival Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Tigers (15-21, 10-16 GAC) fell 3-2 in the opening game and then 4-3 in the finale.
ECU was led by junior
Ellanee Allison, with a .667 average, four hits and a run scored. Freshman
Tarah Hilton added a .500 average, a double and two RBIs.
The teams will finish the series, Tuesday, April 17 at Tiger Field, with the double header starting at 2 p.m. The Tigers will next be in action, April 6-7 at Harding.
SE 3, ECU 2
The Savage Storm (25-14, 19-7 GAC) were the first to get on the scoreboard, netting a run in the first and another in the third for a 2-0 advantage.
The Tigers cut the deficit in half in the fifth inning. Junior
Mariah Ewy started the inning with a single and advanced to third when Allison singled. Hilton then hit into a fielder's choice that allowed the run to score.
The next inning junior
Breecia Crawford tied the game at two, with a solo home run to lead off the stanza.
The score remained knotted headed into the seventh. ECU was able to get the bases loaded, but the inning ended with a run down and no run crossing the plate.
Southeastern was then able to get a run across in the bottom of the inning for the 3-2 victory.
SE 4, ECU 3
In the second game of the day it was the Tigers that took the first lead, earning a run in the second inning. Ewy and Allison both singled and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. That allowed junior
Bridget Gleason to earn an RBI with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The lead was short lived, as the Savage Storm scored a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game at one.
The teams held each other scoreless through the next two innings, before ECU was able to regain the lead. After junior
Aundrea Hamric reached on an error she was able to get across the plate when senior
Alissa Taylor doubled to left field for the 2-1 lead.
The Tigers then added another run in the sixth for a 3-1 advantage. Allison started the inning with a double and was sent to third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman
Angel Stoker. After the second out was recorded, Hilton doubled down the right line to earn the RBI.
Southeastern did not go away quietly, as they scored two runs in the sixth to tie the game at three.
ECU got two runners on in the top of the seventh, but was unable to score. The Savage Storm then claimed the 4-3 win in the bottom of the inning with a two singles and two sacrifice bunts.