Softball Wins Season Opener, 12-7, Over Arkansas

Friday, February 6

Boca Raton, Fla.

6:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

1-0

Arkansas

0-2

ARKANSAS

Florida Atlantic

2/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

Feb. 7, 2015

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Florida Atlantic University softball team rallied to defeat Arkansas 12-7 in its season opener on Friday night. The game was part of the FAU Kick-Off Classic.

Arkansas jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, behind a first inning grand slam. FAU (1-0) cut the advantage in half in the bottom of the inning, when Carnesha Thompson doubled in Emily Lochten before coming around to score on a Razorback error.

Defensive miscues by Arkansas also allowed the Owls to score a run in both the second and third innings to tie the game. The Razorbacks retook the lead in the top of the fourth, but Lindsey Shell beat out an infield single that allowed Kiley Southall to score and even the score again, this time at 5-5.

Arkansas fired back with two more runs in the fifth, but the Owls responded with four of their own, two of them coming on a Lochten shot over the fence. Laura Mann's single drove in Melissa Martinez and Alex Miller scored on a wild pitch for the other two runs in the frame.

The Razorbacks led off the sixth with a triple, but two strikeouts and a liner to left kept the runner from scoring. FAU padded its lead with three more runs in the bottom of the inning as Melissa Martinez's RBI single and Alex Miller's two-run double provided the final tally. Tatum Buckley threw 2.1 innings of scoreless relief for her first career win.

In the nightcap, the Owls led Penn State 2-0 in the top of the third when rain forced an end to the day's action. The game will be continued on Sunday.

The FAU Kick-Off Classic will continue at 9 a.m. on Saturday, with the Owls facing Kansas and Georgia Tech at 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. respectively. Live stats of all the tournament games can be found on fausports.com.