SC Oklahoma News

The East Central University softball team competed in their second tournament of the season at the Raising Canes Festival tournament February 17-18.
 
The Tigers (1-7) finished the weekend 1-3. They dropped their first two games on Friday against Missouri Southern State and the University of Central Oklahoma before splitting Saturday with a win over Fort Hays State University before falling to Northeastern State University.
 
Day 1
ECU vs. MSSU (L, 6-5)
ECU fell behind early as MSSU plated one run in the bottom of the first and three more in the second to take an early 4-0 lead.
 
The Tigers got on the board in the top of the third inning when Elyse LeClair got an RBI single to score Josi Goodman.  ECU was held scoreless in the fourth and fifth but did rally in the top of the sixth.
 
With two outs, Jayna Reid reached on a fielding error by the shortstop and then advanced to second on Jami Watson's single to left field. Zoe Acosta followed with a single into the outfield to drive in Reid and cut the deficit in half to 4-2.
 
The Lions responded, though, with two more runs to push the lead back out to four at 6-2.
 
ECU would come back in the top of the seventh as Cheyenne Adair singled, Kenzie Lasker drew a walk, and Elyse LeClair got another RBI single to get Adair across home plate. Gabi Quintanilla drew a walk to load the bases, and a second walk from the MSSU pitcher scored Goodman. Watson then singled to score LeClair, giving the Tigers a chance to pull off a comeback, but a final strikeout would end the game and seal the victory 6-5 for the Lions.
 
ECU vs. UCO (L, 8-0)
UCO jumped out to an early lead in the second inning on two wild pitches and an RBI groundout for a 2-0 advantage. 
 
UCO would score two more runs in the third and fourth before a two-run homer in the fifth ended the game early for ECU as the Bronchos went-up 8-0 for the run rule.
ECU was led at the plate by Elyse LeClair, who had two hits on the day including a double. Gabi Quintanilla and Rachelle Mengwasser added a hit each in the game. Lauren HerrNeckar took the loss for the Tigers. 
 
Day 2
ECU vs. FHSU (W, 5-1)
The Tigers started day 2 with a big win over Fort Hays State University. Janyna Reid got ECU going in the first with a home run for an early 1-0 lead. Reid picked up another RBI in the second, drawing a bases-loaded walk to score Megan Lesko, who had singled earlier in the inning. ECU scored two more runs on an error to push their lead to 4-0.
 
In the bottom of the second, Fort Hays would get a run via an error and a double to make the score 4-1.
 
ECU would tack on another run in the third on Josi Goodman's RBI single to score Zoe Acosta, who had singled to start the inning.  The 5-1 cushion would be more than enough as Taryn O'Brien finished out the game on the mound for the win in relief of Taia Harris.  A balanced attack for the Tigers' offense saw seven players with a hit in the game.
 
ECU v. NSU (L, 7-6)
ECU finished the day and the tournament with a tough loss to Northeastern State. The Riverhawks offense exploded in the second with 4 runs on two home runs for the 4-0 lead. 
 
In the third inning, Northeastern would strike again with another home run for a 5-0 advantage. 
 
Rachelle Mengwasser answered back for ECU with a two-run homer of her own, followed by three straight singles by Gabi Quintanilla, Megan Lesko, and Miranda Garza to plate another run.  Elyse LeClair would get an RBI on a walk as ECU closed the gap to 5-4.
 
The Tigers tied the game at 5 all in the sixth on a homer by Cara Duncan, but Northeastern grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the inning on a two-RBI double. ECU had one last chance as Gabi Quintan homered, but that was as close as they could get, and fell by a final of 7-6. 

Original source can be found here