Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks softball team went 3-1 in the American Southwest Conference First Pitch Tournament held in Farmers Branch, Texas, over the weekend.
Ozarks (3-3, 0-0) defeated Schreiner University 9-0 and Sul Ross State University 6-5 on Friday. The Lady Eagles came back on Saturday and defeated Concordia-Austin 5-1, but lost to Texas Lutheran University 4-5. The Lady Eagles run-ruled Schreiner (1-2, 0-0) on Friday in five innings of play behind a one-hit performance by pitcher Andrea Mitchell. Mitchell (1-1) threw a no hitter through four innings before Schreiner picked up their first hit in the bottom of the fifth. It was Mitchell first win of the season. She struck out three. Ozarks gave her the offense she needed by holding a 3-0 lead after three innings and then posted four more in the fourth. The fourth inning was highlighted by a Dana Marvin 3-RBI triple and put the game out of reach. Dara Clark had a team-best 2 hits. Marvin paced Ozarks with 4 RBI in the win. Danielle Dirks provided the heroics in Friday’s second game as she knocked in two runs with a double to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning against Sul Ross State (0-6, 0-0). Marvin then proceeded to hold Ozarks’ lead by allowing only one hit in final at bat for Sul Ross State. The Lady Eagles got two runs in the second behind a Dirks two-run home run while starting pitcher Chanceree Catlett held the Lady Lobos to no runs through four innings. Ozarks added two more runs in the fourth thanks to two Sul Ross errors. The Lady Lobos battled back to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth when they scored four runs. Dirks, however, answered the call in the top of the seventh with a double that proved to be the game-winner. Catlett (2-1) received the win after pitching five innings and striking out three. Marvin received her first save of the season. Dirks went 2-for-4 at the plate with 4 RBI to lead Ozarks. The Lady Eagles used a four-run third inning behind a Chelsea Joslin grand slam to earn a victory over Concordia-Austin (0-4, 0-0) on Saturday. Neither team was able to score in the first two innings of play, but Joslin’s shot gave Ozarks the momentum it needed to win the game. Trenda Neff, Kara Bartholomew and Dara Clark were each on base when Joslin cranked out her first homer of the season. Catlett held the Tornadoes scoreless through six innings before an RBI double in the top of the seventh ruined a shutout. Catlett had five strikeouts and received the win. Six different players had a hit in the win, with Joslin collecting a game-high 4 RBI. Texas Lutheran (3-5, 0-0) handed the Lady Eagles their only loss of the tournament in extra innings on Saturday when the Lady Bulldogs got the game-winning run on an Ozarks’ balk. The fourth inning proved to be productive for the Lady Eagles when Dirks hit a three-run homer to put Ozarks up 3-1. Texas Lutheran answered right back in the next inning with two runs. The Lady Eagles could only muster one more run following Dirk’s home run when they scored in the seventh after a Dara Clark sacrifice bunt scored Tiffany Armstrong. Mitchell took the loss after pitching one and two-third innings. Ozarks out hit the Lady Bulldogs 9-6. Joslin and Jodie Clark each had 2 hits for Ozarks. Dirks had a team-best 3 RBI. The Lady Eagles travel to Conway to face Eureka College on March 8. They will then host Greenville College in their home-opener on March 13.
Topics: Athletics