2013 GAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – One day after rain wiped out all action at the 2013 Great American Conference Softball Championships, the weather again wreaked havoc on the schedule as only four of the slated five games got played. When the evening ended, three teams remained alive with Southeastern Oklahoma State in the title game with Henderson State and East Central in the final loser’s bracket game.
 
The top-seeded Savage Storm (43-7) secured their second-straight trip to the final by defeating Henderson State (22-31), 8-0, in six innings. They scored five times in the third inning and added single tallies in the fourth, five and sixth innings for the win. GAC Newcomer of the Year, Mindy McElory, improved to 21-2 as she threw six scoreless frames. She also collected three hits while First-Team All-GAC catcher Courtney Moore drove in three runs.
 
Saturday opened with a pair of games from the loser’s bracket. Ouachita Baptist (20-33) eliminated the 2012 GAC Tournament champion Arkansas-Monticello (29-25) in a 5-1 victory. Abbi Frakes threw a complete game for the Lady Tigers and Megan Askew collected three hits.
 
East Central ended the tournament run of Southern Arkansas (27-30) by scoring a 7-3 victory. The Lady Tigers (42-12) collected 11 hits and eight of the nine starters recorded at least one hit in the win. In her first start since throwing a no-hitter, SAU’s Hannah Gill took the loss. GAC Freshman of the Year Lacey Paulk improved to 19-3.
 
The evening concluded with a second matchup between the two Lady Tigers and, as like in Thursday’s meeting, East Central shut out Ouachita Baptist; this time by an 8-0 score in five innings. Brianna Nunley limited OBU to three hits over 5.0 innings of work. Leah Tigert, Autumn Suydam and Gina Mengwasser all recorded multi-hit games.
 
The GAC Softball Championship concludes Sunday beginning at noon. East Central and Henderson State will square off for the second time to begin the day. The Lady Reddies scored their first-ever win against the Lady Tigers in their 6-5 triumph on Thursday. The winner of that game faces Southeastern Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. in the title match. The “if necessary” game would follow immediately. All the games air on GACSportsNetwork.com.