Make it 16 wins in a row for the nationally fifth-ranked Arkansas Tech University softball team.
The Golden Suns (18-1 overall, 10-0 Great American Conference) swept Southern Nazarene University 3-1 and 6-4 in a league doubleheader at Bethany, Okla., on Friday.
The series will conclude with a twin bill beginning at noon on Saturday, March 5, in Bethany.
Game One: Tech 3, SNU 1
Jalissa Gum pitched a complete game to lead Arkansas Tech to a 3-1 victory over Southern Nazarene in game one on Friday.
Gum (5-0) limited the Crimson Storm to one run on four hits over seven innings. She notched four strikeouts.
Destiny Crumpley hit a solo home run and Kambri Hill scored on an error in the top of the fifth to give the Golden Suns a 2-0 lead.
Hope Martin accounted for SNU’s lone run with a home run in the last of the fifth.
Alex Edinger provided Tech with an insurance run with a single that drove in Ashley Anderson in the top of the seventh.
Crimson Storm starting pitcher Kayla Wyatt (4-4) went the distance in the circle and recorded 13 strikeouts. She surrendered three runs, two of which were earned, on five hits.
Game Two: Tech 6, SNU 4
Arkansas Tech built a big early lead and held on late for a 6-4 win over Southern Nazarene in Saturday’s second game.
Sarah Coronado had an RBI single in the first inning, and a Crimson Storm error allowed the Suns to add a run later in the opening inning.
Janie Knowles had an RBI single in the fourth inning. Chloe Clifton followed with a two-run home run and Tech led 5-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
The Golden Suns’ defense came temporarily unhinged in innings four through six, committing six errors over the course of those three frames. Southern Nazarene cashed in those mistakes for four runs, trimming Tech’s lead to 5-4 heading to the seventh and final inning.
Crumpley’s RBI double in the top of the seventh increased the Suns’ advantage to 6-4, and Arkansas Tech reliever Kelsie Barker struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win.
Barker earned her second save of the season. She pitched two innings.
Morgan Vaughan (7-0) started in the circle for the Suns and allowed two runs, both of which were unearned, in six hits over five innings.
SNU starting pitcher Katelyn Brown (3-5) allowed six runs on nine hits over seven innings.
