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ATU Softball started their 2024 campaign in Conroe, Texas, playing in the D2 First Pitch
Invitational where they played five games in the span of three days.
On their first day of action the Golden Suns played games against Texas Woman’s
University and Pittsburg State. The early game saw the Golden Suns run rule Texas Woman’s
10-2 in a game that only lasted five innings. After picking up their first win of the season, the
Golden Suns battled the Pittsburg State Gorillas. Ultimately, ATU came up just short of the
victory, losing 4-3.
The second day of the invitational saw the Golden Suns take on Saint Martin’s University
in their first game of the evening. After the two teams traded a pair of runs in the first, the
Golden Suns were able to tack on two more in the third before adding three additional runs in the fifth. The ATU pitching staff held the Saints scoreless for the remainder of the game in route to a 7-2 win. In the late game, the Golden Suns took on Angelo State and fell behind quickly, trailing 4-1 after the first inning. They battled back over the next three innings, though, holding a slim 6-5 lead over the Rams after four innings of play. The Rams got hot, however, scoring four runs combined in their next two innings to topple the Golden Suns 9-6.
After splitting their first four games evenly, the Golden Suns were met with their toughest
task yet in the form of the #17 Wingate Bulldogs. This was no problem for the Golden Sun
offense, though, as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. After a couple
of scoreless innings from both sides, the Bulldogs answered back, scoring two runs in the top of
the fourth. The Golden Suns responded immediately, scoring three runs of their own in the
bottom half of the inning to retake the lead at 4-2. From there, ATU picked up one more run in
the bottom of the sixth and held Wingate scoreless for the remainder of the game to win 5-2. The win brought the Golden Suns’ record to 3-2 in the invitational, a promising start to the season.
Looking ahead to their next matchups, the Suns will travel to Bentonville, Arkansas to play four games in the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Feb. 10-11.
