WBU Battles to Saturday Split With Bethel
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bethel (TN) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 1 |
|
Williams Baptist (AR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
Game 2
Game 2
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bethel (TN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 5 |
|
Williams Baptist (AR) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 9 | 9 | 4 |
WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (2/21/26) – The Williams Baptist University softball team battled to a split with Bethel in a doubleheader at the WBU Softball Field on Saturday.
GAME ONE - Bethel 13, Williams 4
Ashlyn Michael (2-4, HR, 4 RBI) and Addison Foster (2-4) led the way for the Lady Eagles at the plate.
Bethel jumped in front immediately in the top of the first with a two-run homer to center to make it 2–0, followed by a solo shot to push the lead to 3–0. Williams answered in the bottom of the frame when Ashlyn Michael singled home Kaelyn Gooch, trimming it to 3–1.
In the third, Bethel extended the margin with three more runs. Bethel tacked on two more in the fourth on an RBI groundout and an RBI single, stretching the lead to 8–1.
WBU made its biggest push in the fifth, sparked by Michael's three-run homer to left that cut the deficit to 8–4. That was as close as the Eagles would get, as the Wildcats quelled any WBU comeback hopes with a five-run seventh inning to secure the win.
GAME TWO - Williams 9, Bethel 6
Taylor Youngblood (3-4, 2B, HR, RBI) and Addison Foster (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) posted great games at the plate in the back half of the twinbill.
Bethel struck for the game's first run in the second, before Williams flipped the game with a five-run outburst. The Eagles tied it when Mariah Loya stole third and came home on a catcher's error, then moved ahead with an RBI double from Michael. A sacrifice fly from Paige Thomas made it 3–1, and Addison Foster capped the inning with a two-run homer to center for a 5–1 advantage.
Bethel chipped away in the fifth behind a three-run inning to cut the lead to 5-4, but WBU answered immediately in the bottom half with four runs that proved to be the difference. Taylor Youngblood crushed her first career homer to left, then added three more runs on four Bethel errors to take a 9-4 lead.
Bethel made one last push in the seventh with a pair of runs, but Brianna McPike recorded the final two outs in relief to seal the win.
Emberlin Caldwell (4-2) earned the win in the circle for WBU.
The split moves WBU to 7-5 overall on the season. Next, the Lady Eagles will play host to No. 25 Evangel on Tuesday, Feb. 24 in a doubleheader. First pitch against the Valor is set for 1 p.m. from the WBU Softball Field.