After a first-inning explosion to start the day, the bats dried up for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff softball team on Tuesday.
UAPB split a non-conference doubleheader against Henderson State, winning 8-4 and losing 6-3 at the Torii Hunter Complex in Pine Bluff.
Head coach Michael Bumpers said the Lady Lions were energetic to start the day but cooled off afterward.
“We started getting those hits, and I think they got a little bit relaxed in the dugout,” Bumpers said. “Even with the chants and everything, it was going up and down. We didn’t stay focused after we scored those 7. Came out just swinging at anything close, not swinging at strikes.”
UAPB (8-19) scored 7 runs on six hits in the first inning of the day. Left fielder Ariana Gonzalez and centerfielder Angelina Rivas each hit 2-RBI singles, and designated player Danika Bryant hit a 3-RBI double.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
HSU starter Brooke Johnson (3-4), who entered the game with a team-best 1.82 ERA, got out of the first inning but was pulled with no outs in the second after allowing back-to-back leadoff singles. She gave up 7 runs on 8 hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Henderson State (16-15) held UAPB to 4 runs the rest of the day. Relief pitcher Makenna Keeton finished the first game, holding UAPB to 1 run in 5 innings on 6 hits. She struck out five batters with no walks.
Gonzalez said the Lady Lions started well at the plate, but the change to a slower pitcher threw off their timing.
“That first inning, we had a good approach compared to last week,” Gonzalez said. “We were struggling, but we came in stronger that first inning.”
The 7-run first was enough for UAPB to win game one, but the Reddies scored first in game two. Designated player Josie Copeland hit a 2-out RBI single in the top of the first inning. The score remained 1-0 until HSU scored 3 runs in the fifth inning and 2 in the sixth.
The Lady Lions finally scored in the bottom of the sixth on three straight hits, including an RBI double from third baseman Amari Broughton. Gonzalez reached on an error the next at-bat as Broughton scored, cutting the deficit to 6-2. An RBI groundout from second baseman Janai Mathis made it 6-3 in the bottom of the seventh, but UAPB couldn’t get any closer.
HSU starter Jersey Cabana (7-2) held UAPB to 2 runs on 7 hits with a walk and a strikeout in 5 1/3 innings before Presley Applegate took over to close it out.
UAPB game one starter Kayla Adams (5-7) went the distance, holding HSU to 4 runs, 3 of them earned, on 9 hits and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts. HSU third baseman Hilary Akers hit 1 for 2 with 2 RBI, while left fielder Macy Hoskins hit 3 for 4 with 1 RBI.
The Lady Lions started Heidi Price (1-5) in game two. She allowed 6 runs on 12 hits with 2strikeouts and a walk in 6 innings.
Kamea Seunarine held HSU to one hit in the seventh.
Last weekend at Prairie View A&M, Adams pitched the first and third games of the series while Price pitched the middle game. That middle start typically goes to Bryant. Although Bryant has been hitting and playing in the infield, Bumpers said she is dealing with a shoulder injury which is keeping her out of the pitcher’s circle.
“She could be out for the next couple of weeks,” Bumpers said. “We don’t know yet. She got another appointment (Wednesday), and then we’ll kind of figure out from there what’s going on with her. Hopefully, we can get her back ready to roll before the next couple of weeks.”
Bryant is one of three UAPB pitchers currently unavailable due to injury. Adams, Price and Seunarine are the only healthy pitchers.