CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – McMurry University Softball swept through its twin bill at University of the Ozarks with a near no-hitter and a mercy rule win Monday afternoon in Clarksville, Ark.
McMurry improved to a 6-4 overall record and a 4-4 record in American Southwest Conference play, while the Eagles fall to 1-6 overall and 1-5 in the ASC.
Game 1: McMurry 1, Ozarks 0
Junior pitcher Jenna Lewis was one out away from completing a 7.0 inning no-hitter in game one, but Ozarks snuck in a single to break it up. Lewis bounced back immediately with a strikeout to close it – her 13th of the game – to finish off the complete game shutout.
Lewis now has two complete game shutouts this season, both of which included double digit strikeout totals. Today, she finished with 13 to set a new season high, while allowing just three walks and a single for four total baserunners.
With business taken care of in the circle, McMurry's offense needed just one run and got it from sophomore Grace Duecker in the third inning. Duecker brought home fellow sophomore Mercedes Camacho on a sac fly for what would be the winning run.
McMurry finished with six hits on the day – all singles. Duecker, Emily Michki, Brianna Martinez, Kate Casey, Camille Scott and Kaylee Berdoll each had a hit.
Game 2: McMurry 10, Ozarks 1 (5 innings)
The War Hawks made quick work of the Eagles in the nightcap, collecting the sweep with a 10-1 win after five innings.
McMurry had 10 hits in the second game, including three doubles and three home runs. Senior catcher Kayla Otis led the way with three hits, including a solo homer in the third to cap off a stretch of eight straight runs by the War Hawks.
Otis now has two three-hit games in her career, including one against UT Tyler as a freshman in 2018. For the season, the Abilene High School product is 5-for-9 over two starts with two runs and two RBI.
Michki started the hit parade with a two-run homer in the first inning, scoring Duecker. This spilled over into the second inning, as Camacho doubled in Otis and Sydney King to make it 4-0. Camacho later scored on a fielder's choice, then Michki added another run with a sac fly. Kasey Woolard then plated a run with an RBI single to cap off a five run inning.
After Otis hit her solo shot in the third, Ozarks tallied a run to make it 8-1. This would be the lone run allowed by junior Kinleigh Stotts, who completed 5.0 full innings with just one run and three hits allowed. Stotts also struck out two with just one free pass.
McMurry added insurance in the fourth and fifth innings to force the mercy rule. Freshman Lauren Ramirez was one of those, jacking a solo homer in her lone at-bat of the game. The hit was the first of her career. Fellow freshman Jade Dickens made her season debut count with a two-out RBI double, making it 10-1.
Stotts closed it out with the final three outs, allowing a two-out walk, but nothing else.
On Deck
The War Hawks return home for a three-game set at Edwards Field against LeTourneau. The series begins Friday, March 4 with a 4 p.m. doubleheader. The series concludes Saturday at 12 p.m.
