2013 GAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The first day of the 2013 Great American Conference Softball Championships from the Tiger Athletic Complex and Memorial Park featured a no-hitter, a game-ending steal of home and an upstart sixth seed emerging as one of the two remaining undefeated teams.
Henderson State, the sixth seed, opened the GAC Championship by jumping on Arkansas Tech in the very first inning when Sarah Gipson hit a two-run home run. The Lady Reddies built a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning and went on to a 9-5 victory. In the evening, they sent second-seeded East Central to the loser’s bracket by beating the Lady Tigers for the first time in five tries this year. Amber Wilburn hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning.
Like Henderson State, the GAC’s top seed and third-ranked team in Division II, Southeastern Oklahoma State, also finished the day undefeated should not. However, the Savage Storm needed an improbable rally just to survive their opening game with Southwestern Oklahoma State. Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Southeastern loaded the bases with nobody out and tied the game on a sacrifice fly and an infield single. With two outs, Rachel Jones stood on first while Jessica Simmons occupied third. Jones broke for second and when SWOSU pitcher Megan Ayala turned towards Jones and away from home plate, Simmons took off and beat a throw home for the winning run.
The Savage Storm had an easier time in their second game, one that featured the final two teams that battled for the inaugural GAC Championship. Southeastern scored twice in the first and three more times on the second inning en route to a 5-3 victory against Arkansas-Monticello
The two schools that lost its first game on Thursday then came back to win an elimination game both scored convincing victories at Memorial Park. Seventh-seeded Ouachita Baptist knocked Arkansas Tech, 11-2, in five innings and Southern Arkansas beat SWOSU, 5-0. In that game, Lady Mulerider All-GAC pitcher Hanna Gill threw the eighth no-hitter in program history. She struck out eight and the only two to reach base came on hit batsmen.
Interview with Southern Arkansas' Hanna Gill
Friday’s scheduled slate of games opens with Arkansas-Monticello facing Ouachita Baptist at 11 a.m. East Central squares off with Southern Arkansas at 1 p.m. The Savage Storm and Lady Reddies will play for a spot in the title game at 3 p.m. Two more loser’s bracket games follow at 5 and 7 p.m. All five games will air on the GAC Sports Network at
GACSportsNetwork.com.