Lady Tiger softball wins El Dorado Springs tournament

EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. -- The Nevada Lady Tigers softball team earned their second tournament victory of the year as they posted a clean sweep at the El Dorado Springs Invitational Saturday.

In three games, the Lady Tigers outscored the opposition by a staggering 32-1 margin, beating Stockton 8-0 in the closest game of the tournament. Senior Rachel Kennedy pitched a one-hitter in that contest to lead the Lady Tigers to an opening round victory.

The offensive rush for the Lady Tigers went up from there as they scored a total of 24 runs in their final two games. Freshman Christian Novak pitched the Lady Tigers' second one-hitter of the day in a 12-1 victory over the Lady Bears of Butler to send the Lady Tigers into the championship game.

Novak and the Lady Tigers needed just three innings to finish the sweep as they defeated Lamar to take the tournament championship by a final score of 12-0. Strong defense gave the Lady Tigers a smooth run to the championship and Novak didn't allow a baserunner in the final game.

Of the 36 hits that the Lady Tigers amassed throughout the tournament, three came in the form of home runs. Sophomore Olivia Culbertson added her third and fourth homers of the year while senior Mary Ann Kennon blasted her third.

Culbertson finished with a team-high seven hits while sophomore Tiffani Long had six and Kennedy finished the day with five. Kennon, freshman Mackenzie Pritchett and sophomore Nikki O'Bryan each finished out the tournament with a total of four hits.

With those three victories, the Lady Tigers improved their overall record to 10-5 on the year and were scheduled to be back at home on Monday to square off against Humansville, but that game was canceled due to inclement weather.

No make-up date has been established for that contest and Parents' Night activities have been moved to Thursday, when the Lady Tigers take on Bolivar at Bushwhacker Field at 5 p.m.