Clarksville, Ark.-The University of the Ozarks softball team split in their double-header against LeTourneau University in American Southwest Conference play on Saturday.
Ozarks moves to 13-14 overall and 3-11 in ASC play while LeTourneau goes to 5-27 and 2-16 in the ASC. “Coming back from a deficit in both games on Friday was good,” said head coach Elizabeth Caroscio. “I saw a fire from the girls that I had not seen all year. It was good for them to see they could come from behind. We haven’t been able to do that in other games. We came together late in the game and that was a true team effort.” LeTourneau took an early 3-0 lead after two innings, taking advantage of four hits during that span, and went on to a 5-0 victory in game one. LeTourneau took advantage of one error in the top of the third and added two runs to finish out the scoring in the game. LeTourneau starting pitcher Jenny Brooks recorded her first shutout of the season. Ozarks could never get much going offensively as Brooks held the Lady Eagles to five hits. Andrea Mitchell (5-3) took the loss. Dara Clark and Dana Marvin each went 2-for-3. Chanceree Catlett pitched a six-hit complete game to help Ozarks take a 6-1 victory in game two. Ozarks had a 5-0 lead after four innings of play and Catlett held the visitors scoreless through five and two-third innings. Leading 1-0, the Lady Eagles had a three-run third inning behind three hits. Jodie Clark singled in two of the three runs to highlight the third. Jessica Pianalto doubled in Mitchell in the fourth and Danielle Dirks hit a solo shot in the fifth to give the Lady Eagles a 6-1 lead. It was Dirks’ fourth homer of the year. Catlett evened her record to 6-6 and had seven strikeouts. Dara Clark, Brooke Grice, Jodie Clark, Dirks and Mitchell each had two hits apiece. Dirks and Jodie Clark had 2 RBI. “The momentum has definitely shifted,” said Caroscio. “We can’t worry about what happened previously in the season, but we can take the momentum and move forward. This conference is extremely tough. You have to claw and scratch for every run. It is very challenging to do that day in and day out. I am really happy with how the girls have accepted their roles on the team.” Ozarks will travel to Pineville, Louisiana, to face Louisiana College in a four-games series beginning Thursday with a double-header.
Topics: Athletics