Aces wrap up tournament on Sunday morning
Â
The University of Evansville softball team hit three home runs, but it was not enough against #9 Oklahoma as the Sooners grabbed a 5-4 win on Saturday evening at Marita Hynes Field.
UE (4-9) had three hits in the game, all home runs as Morgan Florey, Chandra Parr and Hayli Scott each hit one out of the park. Oklahoma (14-4) saw Caleigh Clifton and Kelsey Arnold notch three hits apiece. Clifton also had two RBI. Aces starter Emily Lockhart had a solid day, going 5 1/3 innings giving up five runs. Samantha Fleming went the final 2/3 and struck out one.
Oklahoma plated a run in the first and second inning to take a 2-0 lead. In the first, it was Kelsey Arnold who scored on a steal of home plate.  In the second, Caleigh Clifton notched an RBI single to center to score Lea Wodach. In those two innings, the Sooners stranded four runners.
Evansville cut the deficit in half in the fourth as the first hit of the game for UE proved to be a big one as Morgan Florey belted a home run to right-center to put the Aces on the board.
In the bottom of the fifth, OU got that run back when Nicole Pendley hit a homer to deep center, her sixth of the season to make it a 3-1 game. Later, Wodach singled up the middle to send another run across the plate.
Just as she did a night ago, Chandra Parr homered once again. A solo shot to left field got the Aces back within two in the top of the sixth. Just as fast as UE cut into the gap, Oklahoma responded. Clifton posted her second RBI of the game, hitting a solo homer of her own in the bottom half of the frame.
Down to the final out, Hayli Scott came in to pinch hit and came through in the clutch once again. A 2-run shot to right-center got the Aces within one, but that would be the final run of the game as the Sooners hung on for the win. Evansville scored three runs against the Sooners last night and four today, they are the only team to score against Oklahoma this weekend.
With the loss, the Aces will take on Northwestern State at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in the final contest of the tourname
