No. 4 Harding (34-22, 26-18 GAC) vs. No. 5 Arkansas-Monticello (30-26, 24-20 GAC)
Bentonville, Ark. (Bentonville HS) • April 28 • 4 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Internet:
    Live Stats: www.HardingSports.com
    Live Video: www.HardingSports.com

THE COACHES
Phil Berry, Harding
    at Harding: 89-80 (3rd season)
    Career: same
    vs. UAM: 5-6
Alvy Early, Arkansas-Monticello
    at UAM: 709-397-2 (20th season)
    Career: same

THE SERIES
Series Record: UAM leads 6-5
in Bentonville: UAM 0-1
First Meeting: HU 4-1 (3/21/14)
Last Meeting: UAM 7-5 (4/9/16)
Current Streak: UAM 3 games

The Harding softball team will open the Great American Conference Tournament on Thursday as the No. 4 seed after going 26-18 in conference games this season. The Lady Bisons will take on the No. 5 seed Arkansas-Monticello at 4 p.m., at the Bentonville High School.

Harding has a 5-3 record on a neutral field and has a 4-0 record in the city of Bentonville this season.

Harding Team Notes:
Harding is coming off a 3-1 GAC series win at home against Southwestern Oklahoma this past weekend. The Lady Bisons won the first game 9-1 in five innings and the second game on Friday was suspended in the fifth inning due to darkness. Southwestern Oklahoma's bus broke down which delayed the start. The Bulldogs won the second game of the series 8-5 on Saturday and Harding took the last two 5-3 and 7-2.

Alexus Lawellin earned GAC Player of the Week for her performance against Southwestern Oklahoma. Lawellin hit .800 in the series (8-for-10), had two doubles, one triple and five runs scored. She had a slugging percentage of 1.200 and an on base percentage of .857. She was the fourth Lady Bison to earn the honors this season.

In conference games this season, Harding was led by Alexus Lawellin who hit .423. She had 58 hits, 27 RBIs and 39 runs scored. As a team, the Lady Bisons hit .327, had 399 hits, scored 258 runs, had 67 doubles, 10 triples, 36 home runs and 241 RBIs.

Harding ranks first in the GAC and 30th in NCAA Division II with a .326 batting average. Alexus Lawellin ranks second in conference hitting .411, Kinsey Beck ranks ninth hitting .374 and Peyton Mills ranks 10th hitting .372.

The Lady Bisons rank first in the GAC in hits with 502. Harding has four players in the top seven in the conference in hits. Courtney Derrick ranks third with 71, Alexus Lawellin ranks fourth with 69, Kinsey Beck ranks sixth with 68 and Peyton Mills ranks seventh with 64.

Kimmy Hendricks leads the GAC and ranks 13th in NCAA Division II in RBIs with 57. Hendricks is hitting .293 on the season and has eight home runs, three have been grand slams.

In Harding's brief history, the Lady Bisons have only hit three walk-off home runs. Two have been by Peyton Mills as she hit both at home as the first one was against East Central and the second one was against Arkansas-Monticello. Amanda Berdon hit the third one this past weekend against Southwestern Oklahoma.

Harding ranks first in the GAC in runs scored with 335 which sets a new school record and is 17 off setting a new GAC record. The Lady Bisons have three players ranked in the top 10 in the GAC in runs scored. Peyton Mills ranks second with 54, Courtney Derrick ranks third with 51 and Alexus Lawellin ranks sixth with 46.

Harding ranks first in the GAC and ninth in NCAA Division II in stolen bases with 131 (2.34 per game). The Lady Bisons have 50 more stolen bases than second place in the GAC (Southeastern Okla. - 81). The Lady Bisons have four players ranked in the top 10 in the GAC. Peyton Mills ranks second with 31, Courtney Derrick ranks third with 30, Kimmy Hendricks ranks tied for seventh with 19 and Kinsey Beck ranks tied for 10th with 16.

Harding ranks eighth in the GAC with a 3.94 team ERA. Hannah Johnson leads the Lady Bisons with a 2.59 ERA. She tied Amber Rollins (2014-15) for the most wins at Harding this past weekend. Johnson has an 18-8 record this season in 33 appearances. She has thrown 16 complete games and has three shutouts.

Freshman pitcher Kelly Beth Ernest ranks tied for first in NCAA Division II in saves with 10 saves. Ernest had two saves against Southwestern Oklahoma last weekend.

Harding has hit 45 home runs this season to rank fourth in the GAC. Of the 42 home runs, five have been grand slams and Harding has had at least two runners on during 14 of the home runs.

Harding ranks sixth in the GAC with a .957 fielding percentage. The Lady Bisons have turned 26 double plays this season to rank first in the GAC.

Harding ranks first in the GAC in:
Batting Average: .326
Runs scored: 335
Hits: 502
RBIs: 307
Doubles: 82
Stolen Bases: 131
Saves: 12

Harding ranks second in the GAC in:
Slugging Pct.: .482
On Base Pct.: .400
Triples: 12


Opponent Notes:
Arkansas-Monticello heads into the tournament with a 30-26 overall record and earned the No. 5 seed after going 24-20 in the GAC this season.

The Blossoms have a 4-4 record on a neutral field this season and are 3-1 in Bentonville this season.

Arkansas-Monticello is coming off a series split at home against Southeastern Oklahoma last weekend. The Savage Storm took the first game 3-1, Arkansas-Monticello took the next two 2-1 and 4-3 and Southeastern Oklahoma won the last game 6-3.

The Blossoms are led on the season by McKenzie Rice who is hitting .351. She has 61 hits, 13 home runs and 32 RBIs this season. Holly Wilmarth is right behind her hitting .342. She leads the team in hits (65), home runs (16) and RBIs (45).

Arkansas-Monticello has a team ERA of 3.59 to rank sixth in the GAC. Kendra Coleman is the main starter for the Blossoms. She has a 3.58 ERA in 31 appearances. Coleman has a 15-12 record and has thrown 19 complete games and has four shutouts.

Arkansas-Monticello Ranking in the GAC:

Batting Average: .267 – 8th
Hits: 399 – 5th
Home Runs: 60 – 2nd
Wins: 29 – T-5th
ERA: 3.59 – 6th
Strikeouts: 258 – 5th

Arkansas-Monticello Players Ranking in the GAC:

Hits: Holly Wilmarth – 65 – 6th

Slugging Pct.: Holly Wilmarth - .647 – 8th
Runs Scored: McKenzie Rice – 43 – T-8th
Home Runs: Holly Wilmarth – 16 – 2nd

Series:
When the two teams played this season in Searcy, Arkansas-Monticello won the series 3-1. Harding won the first game 6-5 off a walk-off home run by Peyton Mills. The Blossoms won the last three, 8-6, 8-0 and 7-5.

Harding was led at the plate by Kinsey Beck who hit .462. She had six hits, two runs scored, three doubles and two RBIs. Peyton Mills and Amanda Berdon each hit .417 in the series and both had three RBIs. Mills also had two home runs and five runs scored.

Hannah Johnson led Harding in the circle with a 1-2 record. She pitched 16 innings, gave up 22 hits, 16 runs, 11 earned runs, walked three and struck out 10. Arkansas-Monticello hit .301 against her.