Clarksville, Ark.-LeTourneau University took a 5-2 win in game one and then survived a late Ozarks' rally to win 12-10 in game two on Sunday in American Southwest Conference play.
In game one, LeTourneau (13-15, 5-7 ASC) opened with a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Julie Wilkinson knocked in Danielle Dirks in the second to tie it at 1-1. The Lady Eagles (11-13, 4-8 ASC) took the lead in the fourth, scoring one run off three hits. Wilkinson crossed the plate on Jessica Pianalto’s groundout. That lead, however, didn’t last very long as LeTourneau came back and scored two in the top of the fifth. The YellowJackets made it 5-2 in the sixth behind four hits.
Stephany Henson (3-7) went the distance and yielded three earned runs.
Dirks, Wilkinson and Ashleigh Roberts all had two hits.
In game two, Ozarks scored seven of their 10 runs in the final two innings. The Lady Eagles out hit the visitors 15-13, but stranded nine on base in the loss. Facing a 7-0 deficit, Ozarks rallied for three runs in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Cassie Saorrono knocked in one run. Pianalto then hit a shot through the left side to score a pair and make it 7-3. LeTourneau later increased their lead to 11-3, but Joslin made it 11-5 in the sixth by hitting a deep shot over the center field fence. The Lady Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, and Pianalto again hit a single to score a pair. Kaitlyn Poirier followed with a three-run homer to cut it to 12-10.
Brittany Thompson (7-3) took the loss. She worked three innings in the circle, and Sarah Otteman and Roberts each pitched two innings.
Pianalto went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. Joslin hit 3-of-5 and collected 2 RBI. Poirier finished 2-for-5 with 3 RBI. It was Poirier’s third homer of the season and Joslin’s sixth.
Ozarks will travel to Pineville, La., to face Louisiana College on April 11 and April 12.
Topics: Athletics