A Paxtyn Hayes Walk-Off Single lifts Pitt State past Southern Arkansas 4-3, advance to Regional Semifinals
PITTSBURG, Ks. — The opening day of the NCAA DII Softball Central Regionals kicked off Thursday afternoon at the Pitt State Softball Complex. The number one-seeded Gorillas took on eight-seed Southern Arkansas.
A Walk-Off Single from Paxtyn Hayes propels the Gorillas past Southern Arkansas in a thrilling 4-3 victory. Pitt State improved to 52-6 on the season.
The Gorillas got on the board first in the third inning by scoring three runs. It all started when Hannah Burnett ground a ball up the middle to centerfield that brought home Heather Arnett to score the first run of the game. The next batter Paxtyn Hayes hits a hard ball to right field resulting in Burnett scoring. Then, Courtney Storey hit a shot to a gap in left centerfield and Hayes came home to score.
Southern Arkansas tied the game up at three going into the bottom of the seventh inning. But with no outs with Arnett on second and Burnett on first. Hayes knocks one up the middle. Arnett uses her speed and comes home to score the game-winning run.
The Gorillas scored four runs on eight runs. Paxtyn Hayes went 2-for-4, with two RBIs and one run scored. Heather Arnett also went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Hannah Burnett was 2-for-3 from the plate with one RBI and scored one run.
In the circle, freshman Ava Laurent pitched 4.2 innings while allowing six hits giving up two runs and striking out three batters. Senior Hannah Martin picked up her seventh win of the season and remains undefeated on the season. She worked 2.1 innings allowed no hits, surrendered one run and struck out one.
The Gorillas advance to the NCAA DII Softball Central Regionals semifinals to face the fourth seed Augustana Vikings on Friday, May 10th at 11 a.m.
