CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – The Concordia Texas softball team secured a series win over Ozarks, earning an extra-inning victory in game three thanks to clutch hitting from Erica Riley and Cristina Ayala on Saturday.
 
Trailing 3-2 in the final inning, an RBI single from Riley evened the score and forced extra innings, and Ayala supplied the go-ahead RBI hit in the eighth, lifting the Tornados to a 4-3 win the decisive series finale.
 
Bailey Tisdale went the distance in the circle, tossing all eight innings and limiting the Eagles to two earned runs. The junior matched a career-high with 10 strikeouts and earned her second win of the weekend and sixth this season.
 
The game was locked in a pitcher's duel over the first three and half innings, but Ozarks broke the shutout with a two-run homer, taking a 2-0 lead heading into the fifth inning.
 
Concordia Texas answered in the following frame, evening the score at 2-2. Emily Schmuck led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to scoring position on an errant throw from UO, and Megan Hooper brought her around to score on an RBI single. After stealing second, Hooper came home on an RBI single from the bat of Ashley Hallmark.
 
With the game still at a 2-2 stalemate, Ozarks took a 3-2 lead on a CTX error in the bottom of the sixth.
 
In the top of the seventh, Riley delivered the tying RBI, scoring Schmuck on an RBI single to force extra innings.
 
Nadia Lopez, who went 2-for-4 on the day, reached base as the tying run thanks to a one-out base knock, and Ayala delivered the go-ahead RBI as she doubled down the left field line. With only three outs remaining, the Tornados took a 4-3 lead.
 
Tisdale slammed the door in the final frame, working around a leadoff walk and punching out the final hitter to put an exclamation point on the game.
 
The Tornados will take a short break after the series win, returning home for a non-conference doubleheader on March 30. Concordia Texas will host Texas Lutheran at Tornado Softball Field with the first game set for 4 p.m.