Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks softball team fell short in a late inning rally in game one on Tuesday, but came back in the second game to earn a 5-4 win over Ouachita Baptist University.
<#IMAGE:1#>In game one, Ozarks (4-6, 0-0) trailed 6-0 going into the bottom of the fifth before the Lady Eagles scored five runs on three hits to narrow the gap to 6-5. Kara Bartholomew singled in Andrea Mitchell to start the comeback. Brooke Grice followed with a double to put a pair of runners on for Chelsea Joslin. Joslin promptly hit her second homer of the season to make it a game. The Lady Tigers (14-10, 1-3), however, would hang onto the lead by escaping another Ozarks’ rally in the bottom of the seventh. Bartholomew started the inning off with a single, and eventually reached third base on a Joslin fielder’s choice. With two runners in scoring position and only one out, the Lady Tigers were able to stop either run from scoring and ended with a 6-5 win. Bartholomew went 3-for-4 at the plate to pace Ozarks. Mitchell (2-4) received the loss after pitching four innings and striking out two. Ozarks used a two-run third inning and held off a Lady Tiger rally in their final at-bat to earn a split. In the first, Joslin singled in Grice, who had reached on a double, to give Ozarks their first run of the game. Ouachita took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third, but the Lady Eagles got a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 advantage. In the fourth, Stacy Simpson stole home to give Ozarks a two-run cushion, and then the sophomore from Owasso, Okla., recorded an RBI single in the sixth to put Ozarks up 5-3. Ouachita battled back to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the seventh, but Ozarks forced the final batter to fly out with a runner on. Bartholomew finished the game 2-for-4. Stephany Henson (2-2) received the win and Mitchell received the save. Henson went six and two-third innings and collected four strikeouts. The Lady Eagles will open American Southwest Conference East Division play against UT-Dallas this Friday and Saturday in Clarksville.
Topics: Athletics