ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The 24-ranked Harding softball swept a Great American Conference doubleheader over Ouachita Baptist Friday afternoon. The Lady Bisons won 5-3 and 6-5.
Harding improves to 15-5 overall and 4-1 in the GAC.
Ouachita Baptist falls to 4-14 overall and 0-5 in the GAC.
Game 1
Sophomore Chelsea Blankenship racked up three extra base hits to help power the No. 24 Harding Lady Bisons past the Ouachita Baptist Tigers 5-3 on Friday.
Sophomore Maegan Pistokache (6-1) started in the circle and picked up the win for Harding. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up three runs, one earned, allowing no walks and striking out two.
Blankenship's three extra base hits were the highlight of a 3-for-3 day, and included three doubles and an RBI. It was the first time in program history, a player has had three doubles in a game. Junior Nicole Shano also went 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Bisons got on the scoreboard first off a RBI single from sophomore Ashton Bryce, scoring senior Hanna Jones from third.
The Tigers then rallied to score two runs and take a 2-1 lead before the Lady Bisons got back on the board in the third. Harding pushed across a run on Harris' RBI double, which brought the score level at 2-2.
Ouachita Baptist broke that tie and took a 3-2 lead heading into the fifth, when Harding grabbed the advantage at 4-3. The Lady Bisons recorded two runs off of Ouachita Baptist pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from Blankenship.
Harding held the Tigers scoreless before building on their lead in the seventh inning. The Lady Bisons scored a run on Shano's leadoff home run off senior Madison Miller.
GAME NOTES
» Harding went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position.
» Harding pitchers limited Ouachita Baptist to just 1-for-8 (.125) with runners in scoring position.
» Harding pitchers faced 32 Ouachita Baptist hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out two.
» Ouachita Baptist was led offensively by senior Jillian Jones , who went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
» Madison Miller led the Tigers pitching staff, throwing seven innings.
Game 2
The No. 24 Harding Lady Bisons needed eight innings to finish the job, but pulled off the 6-5 extra-innings victory over the Ouachita Baptist Tigers in game two.
Sophomore Abby Burch (2-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Harding. The right-hander went 3.2 shutout innings without giving up a hit and striking out six. Sophomore Jessica Bridges also pitched well, going four innings, surrendering two runs, both earned, on three hits, and striking out three.
At the plate, the Lady Bisons were paced by freshman Emma Curry, who went 3-for-4 on the day with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Junior Nicole Shano also went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 3-0 in the fourth, Harding scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run homer from Curry.
The Tigers then scored one run to retake their advantage heading into the fifth inning. Harding brought home a pair with two outs to lead 5-4.
Ouachita Baptist came back to tied the game at five in the fifth inning.
In the eighth inning, Harding took the lead when Hanna Jones hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Allison Hyatt from third.
GAME NOTES
» The Lady Bisons out-hit the Tigers at a 10-3 clip.
» Harding went 4-for-10 (.400) with runners in scoring position.
» Harding pitchers faced 34 Ouachita Baptist hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and six fly balls while striking out nine.
» Ouachita Baptist was led offensively by junior Lacy Ornelas, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
» Sophomore Nikki Schneider led the Tigers pitching staff, throwing all eight innings.
The two teams will wrap up their three-game series Saturday with a single game scheduled for 11 a.m.
