SEARCY – East Central won both games of the Great American Conference doubleheader over the 19th-ranked Harding softball team Monday. The Tigers won 6-5 and 3-2 in eight innings.
Harding falls to 27-11 overall and 19-9 in the GAC. The Lady Bisons are in fourth place in the GAC standings after Monday.
East Central improves to 17-23 overall and 12-18 in the GAC.
Game One Key Innings (East Central 6, Harding 5)
- Harding got on the board in the first inning when Madi Trump scored off a wild pitch.
- The Lady Bisons scored another run in the second off two hits when Madi Trump reached on a fielder's choice that scored Briley Feringa from third.
- East Central scored its first run in the fourth when Claresha Clemons hit a sacrifice fly to score Bridget Gleason.
- Harding answered back with two runs in the fourth. Lindsey Duncan scored off a throwing error and Madi Trump had a RBI ground out.
- The Tigers scored a run in the fifth when pitch hitter Tarah Hilton singled to right field to score Mariah Ewy.
- The Lady Bisons made it a 5-2 game in the fifth when Briley Feringa hit a single down the right field line to score Amanda Fields from second.
- East Central got another run in the sixth and then took a 6-5 lead in the seventh scoring three runs on six hits.
Game One Key Statistics
- East Central had 15 hits with Catherine Barrera leading the way going 3-for-4.
- Harding had seven hits with Briley Feringa and Lindsey Duncan each having two.
- The Tigers left 15 runners on base.
- Jessica Sisemore went the distance for East Central and improves to 3-4. She didn't give up an earned run and had one strikeout.
- Emma Dwyer received the loss in 2/3 innings of relief. She falls to 10-5 on the season.
Game Two Key Innings (East Central 3, Harding 2)
- East Central scored a run in the first off three hits and a run in the second off two.
- Harding battled back to tie the game with a run in the fourth and a run in the fifth. Madison Leggett had the RBI in the fourth and Peyton Mills had the RBI in the fifth.
- The Lady Bisons had a chance to win it in the seventh with a runner on second and one out but a strikeout and a pop up forced extra innings.
- East Central broke the tie in the eighth when Alissa Taylor singled up the middle to score Chloe Wigington from second.
- After a lead-off walk in the eighth, Harding advanced the runner to second but East Central got a fly out and a groundout to end the game.
Game Two Key Statistics
- East Central had 12 hits with Catherine Barrera going 4-for-4.
- Harding had six hits led by Madison Leggett who went 2-for-4.
- Jacey Henry came on and pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief to get the win for East Central and improve to 2-6.
- Emma Dwyer pitched 6 1/3 innings of relief and received the loss. She falls to 10-6 on the season.
Up Next
- Harding will continue GAC action this weekend when it travels to No. 5 Southern Arkansas for a four-game series. First pitch is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.
