Northwestern State Eliminates Sam Houston State With 4-1 Victory
Southland Conference
Box Score
CONWAY, Ark. - Mikayla Brown of Northwestern State allowed just four hits as the Lady Demons eliminated Sam Houston State 4-1 in Game 6 of the 2017 Southland Conference Softball Tournament on Thursday at Farris Field in Conway, Ark.
The Lady Demons scored early after center fielder leadoff hitter Sidney Salmans walked to open the game, and shortstop Hailee Rhodes reached second base on a muffed throw. Left fielder Kellye Kincannon flew out to right field to bring Salmans home and give Northwestern State the 1-0 lead.
An inning later, first baseman Brittney Jones hit her second home run of the tournament with a shot to left field to double the score. It was Jones' eighth home run of the year.
It took the Bearkats 4.2 innings to get its first hit of the game as Brown had retired the first 14 batters she faced, striking out two along the way. Catcher Megan Crosby singled to right center to break up the no-no.
With runners on second and third on a 1-0 count, right fielder Hayley Barbazon singled up the middle to score both runners and give the Lady Demons the 4-0 lead heading into the last inning.
Sam Houston made a late surge in the seventh. Leadoff hitter Tiffany Thompson reached on a throwing error, and third baseman Tori Koerselman singled down the right field line. Back-to-back Bearkat singles brought Thompson across the plate to make it 4-1. The Lady Demons faced bases loaded with no outs but worked three straight outs to close out the game and eliminate the Bearkats.
NSU will play Central Arkansas tonight at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that game will take on the loser of Game 7 between McNeese and Nicholls on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Games 1-9 will be streamed live on the Southland Digital Network with Chris Mycoskie, Steve Owens and Chris Kane sharing play-by-play duties. The games will be available via
southland.org/live and the
Southland Conference app. In addition to the mobile app, the app is now available for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku.
The championship round will be an exclusive presentation of ESPN3, which can be viewed via
WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app with Mycoskie and former Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Kati Morse on the call.