Golden Suns’ Season Ends at NCAA Regional

Arkansas Tech University’s 2018 softball season ended on Saturday when the University of Minnesota-Duluth defeated the Golden Suns 7-4 in an elimination bracket game at the NCAA Division II Tournament Central Regional in Winona, Minn.

Errors were Arkansas Tech’s undoing. Two Golden Suns’ errors in the top of the second inning and another error in the top of the fourth allowed the Bulldogs to score seven unearned runs and build a 7-3 lead.

Tech attempted to rally in the bottom of the seventh inning and pushed one run across home plate on a run-scoring single by Paty Loredo.

Minnesota-Duluth pitcher Breanna Swint (20-4) finished a complete-game effort in the circle one batter later by inducing a game-ending ground out.

Loredo finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three runs batted in. Janie Knowles also homered for ATU.

Megan Goodnight (17-6) pitched the first two innings for Tech, allowing four hits. She was charged with six unearned runs.

The Golden Suns finished the season 44-19 overall. They won the 2018 Great American Conference Tournament for the first conference tournament championship in ATU softball history, and their 44 wins are second-most in a single Tech softball season.