Arkadelphia, Ark. - The Missouri Southern Softball team wrapped up their final day at the Ronnie Hawkins/Mike McGhee Memorial Tournament on Sunday, February 4. The Lions ended the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record after victories over Henderson State, 6-5 (9th), and Ouachita Baptist, 13-0 (5th), on the day.
Missouri Southern vs. Henderson State
W, 6-5 /9 innings
Both teams had a tough time offensively to start the game as it was scoreless after two innings. The Lions got on the board first in the top of the third with a sacrifice ground by
Adrianna Young, bringing in
Madison Grimes who stole all the way to third after being walked.
Emily Perry followed up with an RBI off a fielder's choice that scored
Yazmin Vargas to give the Lions a 2-0 lead. The Reddies responded quickly with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third, tying the game at 2-2. In the top of the fourth,
Yazmin Vargas hit a beautiful shot over the center fielder that brought in two runners as she was able to reach third for a triple, giving the Lions a 4-2 lead.
The Reddies returned in the bottom of the sixth inning with two doubles that scored two runs and tied the game up at 4-4, which stayed the same through the seventh as the game went into extra innings. The Lions began the eighth with a
Abby DeSanto double to left field which brought in the extra inning runner
Carsen Tinkler. The Reddies responded with a run of their own to keep the game going after eight innings with a score of 5-5. With two outs,
Taylor Nuckolls rallied at the plate and hit a huge single up the right field line and scored the extra inning runner to give the Lions a 6-5 lead and a chance to win in the bottom of the inning. The Lions clutched up on defense and had three up and put three down to win after nine innings of play, 6-5.
Natalie Bates (1-0) got the win on the day as she was the third reliever of the game for the Lions and pitched 1.2 innings and gave up zero hits or runs and struck out one batter in the four that she faced.
Kiki Pickens,
Kara Amos,
Avery Tallman and Bates combined for eight strikeouts in the win.
Missouri Southern vs. Ouachita Baptist
W, 13-0 /5 inn.
The Lions had complete control of the Tigers throughout the five innings of play.
Yazmin Vargas was the first to score in the first inning off a wild pitch in the top of the first. The Lions displayed their dominance in the second, scoring six runs off two RBIs from a
Carsen Tinkler single, an RBI from
Taylor Nuckolls,
Kara Amos and
Abby DeSanto, and a throwing error bringing the score to 7-0 after the second inning. The third inning was a clinic for the Lions as
Yazmin Vargas got things started with the Lions first inside-the-park homerun of the season, scoring two runs.
Abby DeSanto cleared the left field fence and combined with Vargas for four of the five runs in the inning, the fifth coming from an
Emily Perry double to give the Lions a 12-0 lead after three innings. The Lions continued to control the game, adding a final run in the fifth off a
Kate Thurman single that scored Tinkler as the Lions went on to get their third run-rule win of the tournament over the Tigers, 13-0.
Natalie Bates (2-0) got another win on the day as she started the game and pitched 2.0 innings, giving up only one hit while striking out four batters of the seven she faced. Bates and
Lily Rand combined for eight strikeouts in the shutout victory.
Up Next
The Missouri Southern Softball team will travel to Bentonville, Arkansas to compete in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Friday, February 9, starting off against #8 Texas at Tyler (11:00 AM) and then playing Truman State (1:30 PM) in Memorial Park on Field 2.
