Hayley Hudson’s walk-off grand slam on Friday afternoon at the Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex gave Arkansas Tech an 8-0 win over Christian Brothers and clinched the Golden Suns’ third Gulf South Conference West Division championship in the last four years.
Arkansas Tech had a magic number of two to win the GSC West entering Friday’s play.
The Golden Suns’ win in game one of their series with Christian Brothers combined with Henderson State’s 7-5 win over Ouachita Baptist in game one of that series clinched the division title for Arkansas Tech.
The Suns were also GSC West champions in 2008 and 2009.
Neither team had a base runner through the first three innings of game one, but Arkansas Tech broke it open with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Amy Kilpatrick and Hudson had RBI singles, and Tiphani Moon drove in two runs with a double to left-center field.
The Golden Suns ended the game early on the mercy rule thanks to a home run from a freshman that was historic in more than one way.
Hudson’s blast over the left-field fence not only clinched the GSC West title, it was her 11th home run of the season. That tied the school record for most home runs in a season set by Moon when she hit 11 round-trippers in 2010.
Amy Horne (5-1) pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out seven for Arkansas Tech.
CBU’s Kaylea Brewer (6-14) took the loss. She allowed five runs in four innings.
Casey King’s RBI single in the first inning of game two gave the Lady Buccaneers a 1-0 lead, but it was all Golden Suns after that.
Arkansas Tech scored four runs in both the second and fourth innings and then added a run in the sixth to end the game early 9-1 on the mercy rule.
Hudson was 2-for-3 with another home run — her school record 12th of the season — and two RBIs in the nightcap.
Shanda Jimeson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Shelby Jo Fenter, Natalie Magie and Alicia Zack drove in one run each.
Arkansas Tech starting pitcher Alex Doyle (11-9) allowed one run on three hits while striking out five in five innings to earn the win. Chelsea Evanoff worked one scoreless inning in relief.
CBU’s Kim Adams (5-11) was the losing pitcher in game two. She allowed eight runs on eight hits in three and two-third innings.
The Golden Suns (31-17 overall, 21-7 GSC) will close out their regular season by hosting Christian Brothers (12-28, 5-21) for a doubleheader at noon Saturday. Tune in to KCAB 980 AM or click here to hear updates from the games throughout the afternoon.
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