ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – SWOSU Softball earned wins in both ends of their Saturday doubleheader against Ouachita, beating the Tigers 5-4 in the first game and 4-3 in the finale in extra innings to pick up their second straight road series victory.
The Bulldogs will now return home to host Henderson State on Senior Weekend, April 18-19. Seven conference games now remain in the season as SWOSU sits just outside of the postseason threshold, looking to jump Arkansas-Monticello who is one game ahead of them in the final playoff spot.
Game One
SWOSU 5, OUA 4
Chesnie Hewitt threw the tying run out at the plate in the sixth inning and SWOSU hung on to edge the Tigers in the day's first game. It capped off a stellar game for the senior, who finished 4-for-4 at the plate which included a three-run home run.
Her home run came in the second inning which at the time had SWOSU on top 4-0 after they scored one run in their first at-bat. A bases loaded walk in the fourth gave the Dawgs their final run of the game.
Ouachita got within a run in the fifth when they pieced together three hits and took advantage of another two Bulldog errors in the field to plate three runs and trail 5-4. They tried to tie the game an inning later but got denied by Hewitt's throw home to cut down the tying run at the plate following a single.
Riley Lusk picked up the win in the circle. She threw into the fifth inning before needing relief from
Kaylee Barkley who was able to maintain her lead in two innings of work.
Alexis Taylor entered in a fresh seventh inning and earned the save.
Jadyn Hook and
Katie Boline both had two-hit games and finished 2-for-4 at the plate.
Game Two (8 inn.)
SWOSU 4, OUA 3
Alexis Taylor continued pitching as the starter in the second game and gave SWOSU a quality outing. Ouachita scratched three runs across on her in the third inning, but that's all they would in the contest as she settled in to eventually throw four consecutive three-up, three-down innings from the fifth inning on.
The Bulldogs struck first on offense in the second inning when
Shallen Mershon doubled in a run to lead 1-0. The Tigers took the lead in the third 3-1, before SWOSU clawed back with runs in the fifth to inch closer and sixth to tie the game back up.
Taylor McMahon singled in a run in the fifth before
Chesnie Hewitt doubled down the left field line to make it 3-3.
The score remained tied until extra innings when Mershon drove a high pitch deep to right center field and over the fence as the go-ahead and eventually game winning hit. It capped off a 2-for-4 game for her, accounting for half of SWOSU's RBIs in the game.
Taylor moved to 9-9 with the win in her fourth complete game of the season.
Kaylee Barkley (3-4) led the lineup with three hits in the game.
