(March 31, 2026) Poteau, Oklahoma - After a split on Saturday, the ladies turned the page from East Division games in Region 2 to West Division games. The Bucks travelled across the Arkansas-Oklahoma border this afternoon for their shortest trip of the season to battle with the Lady Vikings of Carl Albert State College. After the first round of region games, the Bucks were 11-1 in Region 2, while Carl Albert was 9-3. 

The ladies were in a battle with the Lady Vikings this afternoon having to hold off the home team in the first game for the 4-2 win. Then, the Bucks had to come from behind in the second game and once again pitch and play defense to seal the game with the tying run standing on second base. The Bucks left Oklahoma with a narrow 3-2 victory to improve to 25-9 overall and 13-1 in Region 2.

The Bucks starting pitching was big on the day, getting fly balls and ground balls when needed. Hayden White (Red Oak, OK) and Abigail Koppein (Mena, AR) both got the start and pitched all 7-innings in each game. White (6-1) and Koppein (9-2) each gave up 2 runs in their games and both struck out one more than they walked. Both found themselves pitching in the final inning with the tying or winning run on base. 

The bottom part of the order came through on the day. The normal, final three hitters in the lineup had 7 of the Bucks 12 hits, including a double and home run from Kinley Rankin (Horatio, AR). Rankin and classmate Brooke Tyler (Gainesville, TX) each scored a pair of runs in the doubleheader. The ladies took advantage of some Carl Albert errors to pull out the wins.

There will be no rest for either team as the series will conclude on Wednesday, April 1st, at Cummings-Cecil Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 pm as UARM will go for the region series win.

#DefendTheMountain