BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Harding softball completed the weekend sweep Sunday in the Alvy Early/UAM Softball Classic. The Lady Bisons defeated Maryville 5-4 and beat Pittsburg State 9-8 on a walk-off single by Hanna Jones.
Harding went 5-0 on the weekend and improve to 8-2 overall.
Harding vs. Maryville (Mo.)
Junior Lily Tanski (4-1) got the win for Harding (6-2). The right-hander went seven innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits, allowing four walks and striking out six.
Freshman Leigha Harris led the way offensively for the Lady Bisons, going 3-for-4 in the game with a double, a home run and two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Bisons got the scoring started early. Harding's offense produced a three-run output that included back-to-back homers from Harris and Chelsea Blankenship.
The Saints failed to push any runs across before the Lady Bisons offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Harding scored once on an RBI single off the bat of sophomore Ashton Bryce, which brought the score to 4-0 in favor of the Lady Bisons.
Maryville narrowed Harding's lead to 4-2 before the Lady Bisons stretched the advantage to 5-2 in the fourth inning. Maryville put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Harding still held on for the 5-4 win.
GAME NOTES
» Harding took a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Lady Bisons out-hit the Saints at a 9-6 clip.
» Tanski limited Maryville to just 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» Tanski faced 32 Maryville hitters in the game, allowing three ground balls and 12 fly balls while striking out six.
» Maryville was led offensively by freshman Emersen Heron, who went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.
» Heron led the Saints pitching staff, throwing 6.1 innings of two-run ball.
Harding vs. Pittsburg State
The Harding Lady Bisons rallied to score one in the seventh inning and walked it off on a single off the bat of senior Hanna Jones to pick up the 9-8 win over the Pittsburg State.
Junior Lily Tanski (5-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Harding (8-2). The right-hander went two innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on three hits, allowing no walks and striking out three. Sophomore Maegan Pistokache also pitched well, going four innings, surrendering one run on four hits, walking one and striking out one.
In the batter's box, the Lady Bisons were led by junior Nicole Shano, who went 2-for-3 on the day with two home runs, a walk and three RBIs. It was the second straight day Shano has hit two homeruns in a game. She hit two against Arkansas-Monticello Saturday. Sophomore Chelsea Blankenship put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI. Freshman Emma Curry also chipped in for Harding, putting together two hits in two trips to the plate while adding a home run and two RBIs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Bisons scored in six different innings on the way to victory. Harding broke an 8-8 tie and took the lead for good at 9-8 in the seventh inning, walking it off on an RBI single off the bat of Jones.
GAME NOTES
» Five Bisons had multiple hits in the game.
» Harding hitters hit four homers in the game.
» The Lady Bisons out-hit the Gorillas at a 13-12 clip.
» Harding went 4-for-9 (.444) with runners in scoring position.
» Harding pitchers faced 35 Pittsburg State hitters in the game, allowing seven ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out six.
» Pittsburg State was led offensively by sophomore Paxtyn Hayes, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
» Senior Taylor Compton led the Gorillas pitching staff, throwing three innings of three-run ball.
Harding will be back in action next weekend when it takes part in the Central Oklahoma Invitational in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Lady Bisons will open the invitational on Friday at 10:30 a.m., against Nebraska-Kearney.
