Alva Review-Courier -

Arkadelphia, Ark. - Ouachita used a strong seventh inning to come out on top against Northwest Missouri State University, and win their second consecutive game of the season.

Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Ouachita was down 3-1, but would bring across seven runs by the end of the inning. Senior shortstop Aaron Studdard hit a game changing double to left center field in the bottom of the seventh that brought across three runs for the Tigers which put them in the position to close out the game.

Brandon Matros would make his second appearance of the season starting on the mound for Ouachita. Northwest Missouri got off to a strong start as they put up two runs in the top of the first. Ouachita aimed to answer back the runs put up by Northwest Missouri as they headed to the plate in the bottom of the first.Aaron Studdard and Bo Sutton would be walked. Tyler Riebock would then make it to first due to an error by the Northwest Missouri third baseman, which loaded all three bases up for Ouachita. Cade McBride was next to hit for the Tigers and would hit a ground ball that led to a double play getting Riebock out at second and McBride out at first; Aaron Studdard would make it home and give the Tigers their first run of the afternoon.

Neither side could get anything going in the second inning, as both sides were quiet offensively.Heading into the bottom of the third inning, Ouachita was still down 2-1 as they looked to get some offense going. Aaron Studdard, Bo Sutton, and Tyler Riebock all three got walked as Cade McBride once again was up to hit for the Tigers with the bases loaded and two outs. McBride hit a grounder that led to a another double play for Northwest Missouri leaving Studdard and Sutton on base as the game headed into the fourth inning.

Matros would get three straight outs for the Tigers in the top of the fourth inning, which included a strikeout on the Bearcats last batter. As the fifth inning started, Matros would strike out the Bearcats lead off hitter putting them in a good spot to start the inning. However,a few hits by Northwest Missouri led to another run to extend their lead over Ouachita to make it 3-1.

Matros would end the afternoon with four strikeouts and allowed three earned runs off of five hits, as Abe Young would replace Matros at the start of the sixth inning. Once again neither team was able to produce any runs from their offense as the game headed into the seventh inning. After walking two straight batters, Carter Wade would come in for young in the top of the seventh. Wade would only see two batters before Ouachita went with another pitching change, which brought in Sophmore Kaden Tollett to pitch.

The Tigers headed into the bottom of the seventh running out of time and in need of some runs as they were down 3-1. Aaron Studdard would once again be walked and then advance to second on a passed ball as the bottom of the inning began. Sutton would fly it out to left field which was caught by the Bearcats left fielder, and Riebock would strikeout looking. Cade McBride singled it out to left center which moved Studdard to third. Hunter Gautreaux was next to bat for the Tigers and advanced to first due to getting hit by the pitch. With bases loaded and two outs, Sophomore Louis Steen would single it right up the middle which allowed Studdard to score and keep the bases loaded for Ouachita. The Tigers were within one now after the run by Studdard making it 3-2. Northwestern then walked Logan Huneycutt and Chris Willard which brought in McBride and Gautreaux to score two more runs for Ouachita and give them the 4-3 lead. The Bearcats would then walk Pierce Mitchum, which brought back in Louis Steen and gave the Tigers another run. With the bases still loaded, Aaron Studdard was back up to bat again for Ouachita. Studdard smashed a double out to deep left center field, bringing in all three runners on base back into to score and put the Tigers in a great position to win the game up 8-3 heading into the eighth inning.

Northwestern would try and make a comeback from some solid hitting in the ninth inning. However, the comeback would come up short as they were only able to put up three runs giving Ouachita their second consecutive win by a final score of 8-6. Kaden Tollett would pick up the win for the Tigers, his first of the season.

The Tigers will return to action on Sunday February 10 at 1:00 P.M. as they face off against regional rival Delta State University at Rab Rodgers Field.