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Blossoms Split at HSU Tourney

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ARKADELPHIA --- The University of Arkansas at Monticello Cotton Blossoms (4-6) earned a split Feb. 25 at the rain-shortened Henderson State University tournament, topping Washburn 8-1 in the opener and falling to Nova Southeastern 6-3 in the finale.

   In the opener, Ashley Burkett (Sr., West Monroe, La.) scattered six hits in seven innings, allowing one unearned run to pick up her second win of the season, improving to 2-3.

   The Blues scored their lone run in the third inning, but the Blossoms tied the game in the bottom of the fourth on an error, and took a 3-2 lead the next batter as Lauren Brooks (So., West Monroe, La.) hit a two-run single. UAM added a pair of runs in the fifth on a homer by Jodie Scott (Sr., Benton) and then added three more in the sixth to cruise to the victory.

   Meredith Heckel (So., Hot Springs) went 3-for-4 in the victory, while Brooks and Sarah Reed (Jr., McKinney, Texas) both picked up two hits in the win.

   In the finale, Nova Southeastern scored a pair in the top of the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead, but the Cotton Blossoms were able to tie the game in the bottom of the frame on a Terri Rodgers (Jr., Enterprise, Ala.) two-run single.

   However, Nova Southeastern took a 3-2 lead on a sacrifice fly in the third inning and pushed ahead by 6-2 by the end of the inning. UAM was able to add one more run on a Jenny Dunn (So., Adelaide, Australia) RBI single in the fifth inning, but were unable to muster any further offense, stranding 12 runners on base.

   Leah Vaughn (So., Crestview, Fla.) suffered the loss, falling to 1-3 on the season after allowing five runs in 2.1 innings pitched.

   Reed, Kate Brady (So., Longview, Texas), and Gemma Gibson (So., Dodd City, Texas) all picked up three hits in the loss.

      The Cotton Blossoms return to action March 3, squaring off against Williams Baptist and Arkansas Tech in the opening day of the UAM tournament. The Blossoms will square off against WBC at 11 a.m. and will play ATU at 1 p.m.

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