The Ouachita Tigers had the No. 1 ranked Delta State Statesmen right where they wanted them on Tuesday afternoon, but two runs from Delta in the sixth and a close call in the bottom of the ninth allowed the Statesmen to walk away with a 4-3 win over the Tigers.
Delta State took an early lead in the first inning, with a single to left field that allowed a runner to cross home plate.
The Tigers fired back in the second with a run of their own, when McCrae Jones singled to left field, scoring Will Wallace, who got on base earlier in the inning with a single up the middle.
As the third inning concluded, the Tigers found themselves holding a lead over the top ranked team in the country. The Tigers scored their first run of the inning on a bunt single from Landon Flax that scored Parker Norris because of a bad throw to first base. Later in the inning, Keegan Ghidotti popped a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Flax and giving the team a 3-1 lead.
Delta State came out in the sixth with one goal: to tie the game. They succeeded, putting a two spot on the scoreboard and making things a bit more interesting. Their first run came on an RBI double to left field, followed by an RBI single to right field to tie the game at three.
The Tigers put some runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, before a close play at first went Delta’s way and sent the game in to extra innings.
The Statesmen were able to plate a runner in the top of the tenth, coming on a passed ball.
The Tigers put a pair of runners on in the bottom of the tenth, but were unable to prevail, as they ended up falling to the Statesmen by a score of 4-3.
Taylor Stark took the win for Delta, throwing 2.2 innings and recording a strike out. Delta State used four pitchers in the game, while the Tigers went through three.
Ouachita and Delta State will face off again on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m., allowing the Tigers another shot at the No. 1 Statesmen.
