SEARCY – The 2nd-ranked Harding softball team won both games of a Great American Conference doubleheader against Northwestern Oklahoma on Friday. The Lady Bisons won 7-2 and 3-0. Due to incoming weather, the two teams will wrap up their series on Saturday with an 11 a.m. start time.
The Lady Bisons move to 48-6 overall and 38-4 in the GAC. Northwestern Oklahoma falls to 18-36 overall and 16-26 in the GAC.
Harding will be the No. 1 seed in the GAC Tournament held May 4-6 in Bentonville, Ark. The Lady Bisons will open the tournament against the No. 8 seed and will play at 1 p.m., on Thursday May 4th at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Game One Key Innings (#2 Harding 7, Northwestern Oklahoma 2)
- With two outs in the bottom of the second, Harding scored four runs on two hits and a Northwestern Oklahoma error. Peyton Mills hit a double down the left field line with the bases loaded to score three runs. She then scored when Autumn Humes reached on an error.
- The Lady Bisons made it a 5-0 game in the third when Courtney Derrick hit a single to center field that scored Madi Trump.
- Northwestern Oklahoma scored both of its runs in the fourth on two hits. Macy Madewell doubled in a run and Jordan Sutton drove in a run when she grounded out to the second basemen.
- Harding got two more insurance runs in the fifth on three hits when Courtney Derrick hit a single to right field that scored two.
Game One Key Statistics
- Harding had 11 hits in the game led by Courtney Derrick, Amanda Berdon and Mackenzie Jones who each had two hits.
- Northwestern Oklahoma had six hits led by Macy Madewell who went 2-for-3.
- It was Peyton Mills 17th multiple RBI game and Courtney Derrick's fifth.
- Hannah Johnson got the win for Harding to improve to 21-6 on the season. Her 21 wins is a career-high in a season. She had 20 last season. Johnson threw the complete game, gave up two earned runs, walked three and struck out one.
- Madison Garza received the loss and falls to 9-16 overall. She pitched five innings, gave up 10 hits, six earned runs, walked three and struck out three.
Game Two Key Innings (#2 Harding 3, Northwestern Okla. 0)
- With the bases loaded in the second, Lindsey Duncan singled to the shortstop to score Autumn Humes for Harding.
- With the bases loaded in the third, Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Alexus Lawellin to make it a 2-0 game.
- Hendrick-Campbell made it a 3-0 game when she hit a home run to left field. It was her 28th of her career, which tied Amanda Berdon for the most home runs at Harding.
Game Two Key Statistics
- Harding had six hits in the game by six different players.
- Northwestern Oklahoma was held to two hits with Amber Mills and Jordan Sutton each having one.
- Autumn Humes picked up the win for Harding and improves to 26-1 on the season. She threw her 12th shutout of the season to set a new GAC record for the most shutouts in a season. She broke the previous record of 11 held by Jalissa Gum from Arkansas Tech. Humes gave up two hits, walked three and struck out nine.
- Karly Murray received the loss and falls to 8-18 on the season for Northwestern Oklahoma. She pitched six innings, gave up six hits, two earned runs, walked two and struck out one.
Up Next
- Harding will play its final regular season games on Saturday against Northwestern Oklahoma. First pitch is at 11 a.m.
