CLEVELAND – The Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech rolled into town in the midst of senior day and spoiled the party, taking advantage of four Lady Statesmen errors to win 3-2 and 5-0. 

The losses dropped the Lady Statesmen farther out of second place in the Gulf South Conference West Division title race with a conference record of 13-11 and an overall record of 25-19, while Arkansas Tech currently sits atop the standings with a GSC record of 14-8, 33-19 overall. 

Kate Moreland and Edie Oliver pitched well in the contests, allowing just two earned runs between them, but the Lady Statesmen managed just two runs on nine hits in two games. 

Oliver (17-9) took the loss in game one, allowing three runs, one earned, on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. 

Casey Hammons (15-6) earned the win for Arkansas Tech, allowing two runs on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. The Golden Suns scored one run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, and held off a Lady Statesmen rally in the bottom of the seventh to steal the win. 

Senior Kristi Basso missed tying the game in the bottom of the seventh by about two feet of green fence when her blast to left-centerfield with Courtney Chism standing on second base was held up by the wind and hit the fence, leaving the Lady Statesmen catcher to settle for an RBI-double, cutting the lead to 3-2. 

Moreland (4-5) allowing five runs, one earned, on eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts, taking the loss in game two. 

Morgan Rodgers (13-9) was credited with the win after keeping the Lady Statesmen scoreless on six hits with five strikeouts. 

Senior Brittany Tillery went 2-for-3 in the game, but was unable to score either time. 

The Lady Statesmen and Golden Suns will face off again Monday, April 20, with a double-header scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m., and can be heard at www.gostatsmen.com.