BETHANY, Okla. – After dropping the first game of the series 3-2 Friday evening, the East Central University softball team picked up its first Great American Conference series win of the season with a 9-6 opening win and then a 3-2 victory in the nightcap against Southern Nazarene University on Saturday.
 
Game 1
SNU led from the first through the sixth inning, adding a run in the first and another in the third to take an early 2-0 advantage.
 
With their last chance at a comeback, the Tigers stepped up when it mattered most. Zoe Acosta, Rachelle Mengwasser, and Kenzie Lasker all drew a walk, and with two outs, Elyse LeClair singled up the middle to drive in two Tiger runners and tie the game 2-all.
 
However, the Crimson Storm immediately answered back with a leadoff double to get them into scoring position, which eventually led them to seal a 3-2 walk-off win.
 
Taryn O'Brien took the loss, pitching six innings and giving up three runs on eight hits while adding five strikeouts.
 
Miranda Garza led the way with two hits, while Elyse LeClair and Megan Lesko each added one.
 
Game 2
After a quiet, scoreless first inning, the Tigers erupted in the second to break open the game and take a dominating lead.
 
Gabi Quintanilla walked, Jami Watson singled, and Elyse LeClair singled to drive in the first Tiger run. Back-to-back errors by SNU allowed Watson and LeClair to score, and ECU eventually had Kenzie Lasker and Miranda Garza at first and second after Lesker got hit by pitch and Garza reached on a fielders choice. Lesko followed with an RBI double to score Laker and force an SNU pitching change.
 
Gabi Quintanilla kept the momentum going with an RBI single to bring in Garza before Jami Watson's big 3 RBI double put an exclamation point to the extended inning for an 8-0 lead.
 
SNU managed to get two runs back in the home half of the second but wasn't able to produce anything in the middle innings, while ECU tabbed an insurance run in the top of the third for the 9-2 advantage.
 
The Crimson Storm saw some life in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs to cut the lead down, but the deficit would prove to be too much, and the Tigers closed out the game with a 9-6 victory.
 
Taylor Spence picked up her first win, pitching six innings and giving up four runs on 10 hits, while Taia Harris got the save pitching 2/3 innings allowing no runs and no hits.
 
Game 3
While the Tigers only had one less hit compared to the game before, the series finale featured less offense from both teams as runs were limited in the low-scoring game.
 
ECU struck first when Elyse LeClair singled, advanced to second on Jayna Reid's SAC bunt, and Megan Lesko's squeeze bunt allowed LeClair to cross home plate.
 
A pair of Tiger errors in the home half of the first, though, allowed the Crimson Storm to quickly take the lead 2-1.
 
SNU held on to the lead until the third inning when three consecutive singles from Cheyenne Adair, LeClair, and Reid loaded the bases with one out on the board, and an RBI groundout from Lesko knotted the game 2-2.
 
The Tigers held the Crimson Storm scoreless the rest of the way while ECU scored the winning run in the fifth when Quintanilla singled and LeClair doubled to bring her home and eventually finalize the game 3-2 for the series win.
 
Taryn O'Brien picked up her second win on the mound this season pitching six innings while only allowing two runs on three hits. Tais Harris got her second save of the day, pitching 2/3 innings and allowing no runs and no hits.
 
Elyse LeClair led the offense with three hits and an RBI, while Jayna Reid, Vanessa Tamayo, Gabi Quintanilla, and Cheyenne Adair each added one.
 
The East Central University softball team will be back at home in Ada March 10-11 for a GAC series with Southwestern Oklahoma State University.