ADA, Okla. - The East Central University softball team wrapped up their series against Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday with a doubleheader. The Tigers bounced back with a dramatic 9-8 win in game one but were unable to carry that momentum into game two, falling 9-3 and dropping the series.
 
Next, ECU will travel to Wichita, Kansas, to face Newman University on Tuesday, April 1 at 2 p.m.
 
GAME 1 | ECU 9, SWOSU 8
Game one of the doubleheader was a back-and-forth affair, featuring three ties and two lead changes. The Tigers fought hard and capitalized in the sixth inning to secure a 9-8 win, staying alive for the series finale.
 
After a scoreless first inning, SWOSU struck first with a four-run, five-hit second inning, taking a 4-0 lead. But ECU quickly answered, erupting for six runs on three hits in the bottom of the second. Carsyn Cox drew a bases-loaded walk to score the Tigers' first run, followed by Elyse LeClair's two-RBI single that brought ECU within one at 4-3. With runners on first and third, Shayne Roberts came through with a clutch three-run homer to left center, giving ECU a 6-4 lead.
 
SWOSU responded in the fourth with two runs to tie the game, but the Tigers took back the lead in the fifth. Sacrifice flyouts from Caton Muncy and Amiah Galcatcher pushed the Tigers ahead 8-6. The Bulldogs answered again in the sixth, tying the game at 8-8, but ECU wasn't done. McKinley Feazle's RBI single in the bottom of the sixth gave the Tigers a 9-8 lead, which they would hold onto after a strong defensive stand in the final inning.
 
Chloe Williams started in the circle, allowing six runs on nine hits over 4.0 innings. Brooklyn Charnock came in for relief, throwing 3.0 innings of two-run, four-hit ball to earn her second win of the season.
 
At the plate, Feazle went 2-for-4, while LeClair finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Roberts drove in three RBIs with her key three-run homer.
 
GAME 2 | ECU 3, SWOSU 9
Game two mirrored the first early on, with SWOSU jumping to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Unfortunately, ECU struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, trailing throughout the game and unable to fully recover.
 
The Tigers chipped away at the deficit with a run in the second and another in the third, pulling within 4-2. Emily Bingham drove in a run with an RBI single, and Shayne Roberts blasted her second home run of the day, a solo shot. However, SWOSU exploded in the fourth inning, adding five runs on five hits to stretch their lead to 9-2.
 
ECU added a late run in the fifth on Abbey Strong's RBI single, but they couldn't get any closer, falling 9-3 in the rubber match.
 
Amera Garner took the loss in the circle, allowing four runs on six hits. Lindsey Mauppin came in for relief, surrendering five runs on five hits in 2.0 innings. Taylor Spence closed out the game with a strong 3.1-inning performance, allowing just one hit, no runs, and striking out four.
 
Feazle continued her hot streak at the plate, going 3-for-4, while Strong added two hits and Roberts recorded her third home run of the season.