BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The 2nd-ranked and No. 1 seed Harding softball team won its first Great American Conference Tournament Championship on Saturday after defeating 21st ranked and No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas 9-2. The Lady Bisons were perfect in the tournament with a 4-0 record.
Harding earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bisons will find out who and where they will play in the NCAA Division II Central Regional on Monday morning at 9 a.m., Central Time on NCAA.com.
With the win, the Lady Bisons improve to 54-6 overall and become the first team in GAC history to win as many in a season.
Southern Arkansas falls to 45-16 on the season.
Key Innings (#21 Southern Arkansas 2, #2 Harding 1)
- Southern Arkansas got on the board in the bottom of the first when Monica Islava hit a single to left field to score Jill Roye from second.
- Harding tied the game in the third when Peyton Mills hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Courtney Derrick from third. It was her first sacrifice fly this season.
- The Lady Muleriders took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Marina Duran hit a double to right center field that scored Megan Godoyo.
- The Lady Bisons tied the game again in the sixth when Amanda Berdon hit double down the right field line that hit off the first base bag to score Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell from second. It was her 29th RBI of the season.
- Harding blew the game open when it scored seven runs on five hits and a Southern Arkansas error in the top of the seventh inning with two outs. Autumn Humes hit a double down the left field line to score Alexus Lawellin and Courtney Derrick. Amanda Berdon picked up an RBI when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Mackenzie Jones singled in a run and Katie Carney walked with the bases loaded. Lindsey Duncan knocked in the final two runs when she singled to center field that scored Jones and Berdon.
Key Statistics
- Harding had 10 hits in the game led by Courtney Derrick and Mackenzie Jones who each had two. Eight different players had a hit in the game.
- Southern Arkansas had three hits in the game with Monica Islava, Marina Duran and Rachel Miller each having one.
- Autumn Humes received the win in the circle and improves to 30-1 on the season. She threw the complete game, her 26th of the season. Humes gave up one earned runs, three hits, walked three and struck out six.
- Jill Roye received the loss for Southern Arkansas in 2 2/3 innings of relief. She gave up five hits, five runs, one earned and struck out two.
All-Tournament Team
- Mackenzie Jones, Alexus Lawellin and Autumn Humes were named to the GAC All-Tournament team. Humes was also the tournament MVP and becomes the second freshman to win the award. Shelby Miller from Southern Arkansas in 2014 was the first freshman to accomplish the feat.
