LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - No.10 nationally ranked and No. 1 seeded Eastern Oregon Softball was back in action Tuesday as they took on the No. 5 seeded Cougars of Spring Arbor University in the Opening Round of the NAIA Softball National Championships. Eastern fought back from an early 1-0 deficit to take the opening round matchup by a score of 8-3. 

Spring Arbor got on the board early in the first inning after Grace Lentz scored on a wild pitch.. However, Eastern quickly responded in the bottom of the inning, with Addison Ribordy scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1. Haley Tyree then tripled to right center, bringing home Madelyn Durham and Ribordy, giving the Mountaineers a 3-1 lead. The offensive onslaught continued in the third inning, with Durham driving in Evans on a single up the middle. Maddy Stateler added to the lead with a sacrifice fly, bringing in Truh Merriman. Kelly Monaghan singled to third base and brought home Durham, extending EOU's lead to 6-1.

Eastern Oregon added two more runs in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a fielding error by Spring Arbor. Despite the Cougars late attempts to rally in the seventh inning, scoring two runs, it wasn't enough to overcome the Mounties' lead.

Kaylie Hoskins delivered a stellar performance in the circle for Eastern. Hoskins went the distance, allowing just two hits while striking out an impressive 13 batters.

Key Performers

EOU

• Kaylie Hoskins - 7 IP, 0 ER, 13 SO

• Haley Tyree - 1-3, 2 RBI's

• Katelynn Evans - 3-4, 3 runs

SAU

• Emmalee Hamp - 1-4, 1 RBI

• Summer Ambler - 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 SO

Eastern advances in the NAIA Softball National Championships and will take on the No. 2 seeded Georgia Gwinnett College at 12:00 p.m. EST on May. 15 in Lawrenceville, Ga.