SEARCY – The Harding softball team defeated Northwestern Oklahoma 5-1 to complete the Great American Conference series sweep Sunday. Harding run ruled the Rangers both games Saturday.

Harding improves to 24-11 overall and 15-9 in the GAC.

Northwestern Oklahoma falls to 8-25 overall and 3-24 in the GAC.

Key Innings (Harding 5, Northwestern Okla. 1)

-         B3 – Hanna Jones hit single to center that scored Hannah Garrett from second to give Harding the lead. (Harding 1, Northwestern Okla. 0)

-         B4 – Ashlyn Peterson hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Makenzie Chappell. (Harding 2, Northwestern Okla. 0)

-         B5 – Chelsea Blankenship hit a solo home run to left center. It was her third home run of the season. (Harding 3, Northwestern Okla. 0)

-         T6 – Kelsey Bushey hit a single through the left side that scored Kalie Johnson from third for the Rangers. (Harding 3, Northwestern Okla. 1)

-         B6 – Makenzie Chappell scored on a throwing error by the right fielder and Payton Reynolds hit a double to left center that scored Allison Hyatt (Harding 5, Northwestern Okla. 1)

 
Key Statistics

-         Harding had 11 hits in the game. It was also the 11th time the Lady Bisons have had 10 or more hits in a game this season.

-         Hanna Jones, Chelsea Blankenship, Makenzie Chappell and Payton Reynolds all had two hits for Harding.

-         Northwestern Oklahoma had five hits, all by different players.

-         Lily Tanski got the win for Harding to improve to 16-6 on the season. She went four innings, did not allow a run and struck out four. Jessica Bridges got the save for Harding in three innings of work. It was her first career save. She gave up one hit and had three strikeouts.

-         Hannah Scoggin received the loss for Northwestern Oklahoma and falls to 1-12.

Up Next

-         Harding will be in Oklahoma the next two weekends. The Lady Bisons will first be at Southwestern Oklahoma this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., Friday.