Lady Eagles Softball Split Home Opener With Hendrix

Courtesy University of the Ozarks Athletics Department

Clarksville, Ark.-Amber Rollins tossed a three-hit shutout in Ozarks 4-0 game one victory, but Hendrix College took the nightcap 16-5 Tuesday in the Lady Eagles home opener.

In game one, Ozarks (7-9) and Hendrix (8-4) were scoreless through the first three innings of play, but that changed in the bottom of the fourth when the Lady Eagles recorded four hits. Ali Mathis led off the bottom half of the inning with a single to leftfield. Tori Lemieux followed with an infield single and both Mathis and Lemieux would later steal a base. With one out, Rollins helped her own cause with a sacrifice bunt to score Mathis from third. Shawnee Sorensen then delivered a single up the middle to score Lemieux for a 2-0 lead. Ozarks added to its lead in the sixth on Sorensen’s two-run single down the leftfield line.

The Lady Eagles totaled nine hits, with Sorensen and Molly Bowman both collecting two hits. Sorensen finished with a team-high three RBI.

Rollins (5-3) struck out six and issued three walks for her fifth complete game of the season.

In game two, Hendrix built a 4-0 advantage in the second inning, but Ozarks would respond with two runs in the fourth to climb back in the game. Bowman doubled in a run and Arel Ferguson had a sacrifice fly to score Sorensen. But Hendrix scored three runs in the fifth and five runs in the sixth to go ahead 12-2. The Lady Eagles rallied for three runs in the sixth behind a Ferguson RBI single and a two-run single from Miah Williams.

Bowman paced Ozarks at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance. Ferguson and Williams each had two RBI.

Whitney Price (1-4) took the loss after throwing five and one-third innings.

Ozarks will host Louisiana College in American Southwest Conference play March 15-16.