The Lady Lions softball game against the University of Central Arkansas ended in a devastating 5-3 loss when the Lady Bears earned three runs in the top of the seventh inning. This Southland Conference game took place at noon on Saturday, March 17 at North Oak Park.
For the first inning, neither the Lions nor Bears scored any runs.
In the second inning, Kelvon Greer scored for the Lady Bears, and the Lady Lions barely got Stephanie Lasley out at home. When the Lady Lions stepped up to bat, junior outfielder Kelsey Nichols hit a double to the left field and later scored to tie the game 1-1.
The third and fourth innings saw no runs for either the Lady Lions or Lady Bears.
Head Coach Pete Langlois said that he made the decision to switch from senior starting pitcher Vicki Honeycutt to junior Kati Morse in the top of the fifth inning in order to get the Lady Bears out faster. This switch resulted in no runs for the Lady Bears in that inning.
For the Lady Lions, the fifth inning ended with no runs and sophomore Megan McCollum left on third base.
The momentum of the game changed drastically when Lady Bears’ third base player Tiffany Roby hit a homerun, bringing the score to 2-1 at the top of the sixth inning.
“The softball game was pretty exciting,” said Kailee Leblanc, a freshman majoring in kinesiology. “Both teams went back and forth for the lead, after staying in a tie for the first few innings. I’m sure it was a tough loss since it was conference play, but the Lions still made some great defensive plays throughout the entire game.”
When the Lady Lions were at bat, Nichols completed her second run of the game thanks to a double hit by sophomore shortstop Kayla Elswick. A hit by junior outfielder Michelle Duhe resulted in a run by Elswick, bringing the Lady Lions to the lead with a score of 2-3.
McCollum, who played second base in the starting line-up against UCA, shared what she was feeling at this point in the game.
“I felt like we could have won the game,” said McCollum. “We were given the opportunity to score and we did. The excitement from the team and fan support was right where we needed it. We just need to carry that excitement from when the game starts all the way until the final out.”
The results of this Southland Conference game came down to the last inning.
Central Arkansas was at bat first. The Lady Bears managed three unearned runs due to a Lady Lions error, bringing the score to 5-3.
When the Lady Lions were up to bat for the seventh inning, they made no hits, instead receiving three quick outs.
The heartbreaking ending to Saturday’s game against UCA brought the Lady Lions softball team to 6-21 overall and 0-2 in Southland Conference play.
The Lady Lions will play their next four games away, and return home Friday, March 30, playing against McNeese State starting at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.lionsports.net.