ARKADELPHIA, Ark.- Following a win and a tie on the first day of action, the Ouachita Tigers (2-4-1) and Tarleton Texans (2-3-1) faced off once more on Sunday. The teams were originally scheduled for another doubleheader, but a weather system on Saturday evening forced a late start and only allowed for one game.
The Tigers and Texans engaged in another battle that came down to the wire, as the Tigers notched a 1-0 victory with their only run coming in the bottom of the eighth inning as they faced a two out situation.
Ouachita only had two hits in the game leading up to the bottom of the eighth, coming on a triple by Keegan Ghidotti in the fourth inning and a single by Landon Flax in the seventh.
The bottom of the eighth inning was as tense as they get. McCrae Jones led off the inning, hitting a bomb to the warning track in right field. Unfortunately, he was a few feet short, leading to the first out.
Luis De Jesus was the next batter up for the Tigers, as he followed Jones’ out with another deep fly ball, leading to another out.
Landon Moore came to the plate shortly after though, singling to center field and picking up just the third hit of the day for the Tigers. An error by the second basemen would allow Moore to advance to second, while Jace Melby made it to first.
What happened next would seal the game, as Duncan Collins came to the plate and hit a rope to left field, advancing Moore across the plate for the only RBI of the game and sending Melby to third. A strikeout would end the inning for the Tigers, but not before the damage was done.
De Jesus got the win for the Tigers, throwing 1.2 innings and recording a strikeout, but the real workhorse on the mound was Josh Everett, who pitched seven scoreless innings and rang up seven K’s.
Matt Buckmaster took the loss for Tarleton despite a solid eight inning performance in which he recorded 11 strikeouts and only gave up a run.
The Tigers travel to Southern Arkansas on Tuesday to take on the Muleriders in Magnolia, Arkansas in a non-conference match-up. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. They will follow that game with a weekend series in Ada, Oklahoma, where they will take on East Central University to open conference play.
