ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita softball team went across the street and came back series winners after sweeping the midweek GAC doubleheader against rival Henderson State University 2-0 and 5-4 Tuesday afternoon.
Game One: Ouachita 2, Henderson State 0
The first game of the afternoon was a pitcher's duel. After a scoreless first inning, it was Ouachita that got on the board first with an RBI single from Cerria Kemp that scored
Kennedy Wilkie. One full inning later, it was
Bella Roseberry coming up with the RBI Fielder's Choice to score
Jessalyn Ahrens, putting the Tigers up by two over Henderson State.
The Tigers held the Reddies scoreless over all seven innings to earn the 2-0 shutout victory, Ouachita's first shutout win of the season. Ouachita held Henderson to five hits in the win, the fifth game this season that the Tigers have held an opponent to five or less hits.
Five Tigers recorded hits in game one, with
Katelyn Provence and
Cierra Kemp each going 1-for-1 at the plate. Kemp recorded an RBI and Provence added a walk to go with her hit. Wilkie led the batters with two walks.
Catie Amador pitched 6.1 scoreless innings and struck out six to earn the win.
Kodee Batchelor earned her third save of the season after recording the final two outs without giving up a hit and striking out one of the three batters she faced.
Game Two: Ouachita 5, Henderson State 4
Ouachita started off hot in game two. After
Emily Reed got a two-out single in the top of the first,
Remington Adams sent one over the fence in left center field to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Henderson State tied things up with two runs of its own in the bottom of the first inning.
HSU took its first lead of the afternoon in the bottom of the third inning after on a single, but the Tigers stopped it at one run thanks to a throw from centerfielder Provence to the catcher
Emma Love to get the runner out at home, ending the inning and keeping it a 3-2 game.
Ouachita responded the next inning with an RBI double from
Karley Burrow that scored
Laken Golden to tie the game back up 3-3. Both sides went scoreless in the fifth, but the Tigers woke back up in the sixth, this time for two runs. Burrow added her second RBI of the day, this one coming on a one-out fielder's choice that left everyone safe and allowed
Mackenzie Amaya to score after to an error by the HSU catcher, putting Ouachita on top 4-3. Kemp followed up with an RBI groundout to score Provence and give the Tigers a two-run lead.
The Reddies added a run back in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a one-run game. Ouachita went scoreless in the seventh, but the Tigers held HSU to just one baserunner in the bottom half of the frame, holding on to earn the 5-4 win, securing the afternoon sweep and winning the season series over HSU.
Six Tigers recorded hits in game two, with Reed leading the way with two. Adams and Burrow each recorded two RBI to go with their hits.
Burrow got the start in the circle and tossed 5.0 innings, striking out two and earning the win, her first of the season.
Maggi Huddleston threw 1.2 innings of scoreless relief and struck out two.
Batchelor earned her second save of the day and fourth of the season after recording the final out in the circle. This fourth save of the year ties Batchelor for the Ouachita single season save record.
This is the first series win over HSU for Ouachita since the 2022 season.
The final game of the series against Henderson will be played on Tuesday, April 8 at home.
The Tigers will look to keep the success when they take on the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene in a weekend series starting Friday, March 14 at 4 p.m. at Langston Field.
