BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The Harding softball team fell 3-1 to Southern Nazarene in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Tournament Friday at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Harding will have to wait until Monday morning to find out if they have been selected for the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Bisons came into the tournament ranked No. 8 in the central region. The 2024 selection show will be streamed on NCAA.com Monday, May 6 at 9 a.m. CT. The top eight teams in the region will be selected for the central regional.
Riley Price and Emma Curry were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Harding, the No. 3 seed, falls to 34-18 on the season.
Southern Nazarene earned a double-bye in the tournament after picking up the No. 2 seed. The Crimson Storm, 37-15, advances to take on Southern Arkansas at noon Saturday for the GAC Tournament Championship. Southern Nazarene came into the tournament ranked seventh in the central region and Southern Arkansas was ranked ninth.
Abby Burch started for Harding in the circle and took the loss. She falls to 13-7 overall. Burch was replaced by Riley Price in the third. Price finished the game giving up three hits and didn't allow a run.
Chelsea Blankenship led the Lady Bisons at the plate going 2-for-3.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With runners at second and third and one out, Liana Heshiki hit a long ball to give Southern Nazarene a 3-0 lead in the third inning. The Crimson Storm had five hits in the inning.
Southern Nazarene had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the sixth but Harding got out of it unscathed.
Harding's only run came in the seventh when Emma Curry hit a leadoff homer to left field. It was her team-leading ninth homerun of the season.
GAME NOTES
- Jordan Cabana had her 600th career at bat in the game for Harding.
- Southern Nazarene outhit Harding 10-3.
- Harding turned two double plays in the game.
- The Crimson Storm stranded six runners and the Lady Bisons left four on.
- Southern Nazarene starter Janie Worthington got the win and improves to 22-3 on the season. She threw the complete game shutout and struck out eight.
- Southern Nazarene had three players with two hits in the game.
