SEARCY, Ark. – The Delta State University softball team earned the series sweep over the Lady Bison of Harding University at the HU Softball Field on Tuesday afternoon.
THE BASICS: (GM1) Delta State 4 – Harding 1
(GM2) Delta State 11 – Union 7
- Date: Tuesday, March 17
- Location: HU Softball Field | Searcy, Ark.
- Records: Delta State (12-10) | Harding (6-16)
HOW IT HAPPENEDGame One- Delta State struck first in its first at-bats to lead Harding 2-0. Amber Adcock's sacrifice fly to center field ensured Taylor Holland scored from third. In the next at-bat on a first and third play, Kassidy Tally stole second on Kory Watterson's diversion.
- Harding used two hits to cut the lead in half, 2-1, in the bottom of the fourth.
- After only recording two hits prior to the last inning, the Lady Statesmen used four hits in the top of the seventh to score two more runs and take the commanding 4-1 lead into HU's last at-bat. Watterson walked to bring in Andrea Cutts, while Adcock connected for an RBI-single up the middle to score Tally.
- HU brought four batters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Delta State came out on top 4-1.
- Hits were evenly dispersed between the two squads at six apiece.
- Senior Adcock led offensively with a 2-for-3 game one while driving in two runs.
- Freshman Shayna Beaver (5-2) earned the win, pitching 4.0 innings and giving up one earned run on six hits. Brooke Watts picked up the save, her first of the season, pitching 3.0 innings and giving up no runs and no hits.
Game Two- Watterson jump-started the scoring rally in the first for DSU. The Nesbit, Miss. native sent a two-run homerun over the left-field fence. Kara Lane Nowell and Jessie Rodriguez built on that momentum used RBI-singles to give Delta State the 4-0 lead.
- Harding responded in the bottom frame with four runs on four hits to knot the game at 4-4.
- In the top of the second, the Green-and-White took the commanding 10-4 advantage, tacking on six runs on five hits. One more run came across to score in the top of the fifth via Nowell's walk to allow a run to score.
- The Lady Bison never recovered from the deficit, plating three more runs over the next six innings to fall by a final 11-7.
- Adcock and Tally led game two, each contributing 2-for-5 performances from the plate.
- Taylor Johnson (5-1) tallied the win, going the full 7.0 innings. The freshman gave up three earned runs on eight hits en route to the victory.
- The Lady Statesmen recorded the same amount of hits and runs in the first inning of game two that they did in the entire first game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE- Junior Kassidy Tally now holds the Delta State and Gulf South Conference record for career stolen bases with 136. The record has been held by former Lady Statesman Alyse Hasty since 2006 with 135 swipes. Tally also extended her hit streak to 14 games and has reached base in the last 16 contests.
- Senior Amber Adcock led the offense against the Lady Bison going 4-for-8 on the day and driving in four runs. Tally followed going 4-for-9 with three runs scored.
- Delta State outhit Harding 22-16 in the series.
WHO'S NEXTDSU returns to Gulf South Conference action on Saturday, March 21 with a doubleheader starting at 2:00 p.m. The series will wrap up on Sunday, March 22 with a single game starting at 1:00 p.m.
