Tweet #theGAC  BENTONTVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech completed an undefeated run through the 2018 Great American Conference Softball Championships as the Golden Suns rallied for a 2-1 win against Southern Nazarene on Sunday from the Tiger Athletic Complex.
 
The Golden Suns (43-17) trailed 1-0 in the fifth inning until Bailey Bunch hit a two-out home run down the right field line to even the score. The game remained tied until the top of the seventh when Bunch came up with runners of first and second and two out. Her grounder to the short eluded the glove of Kriston Shumaker, which allowed Sarah Coronado to score from second with the go-ahead run.
 
In their half of the seventh inning, the Crimson Storm (27-28-1) pieced together a two-out rally as Kendall Stockstill singled and Mahina Sauer walked. Katelyn Brown lifted a 3-1 offering to right field that Janie Knowles hauled in for the game’s final out.
 
Bunch and Knowles earned spots on the All-Tournament Team along with teammates Ashton Sangster, Makenzie Addis and Megan Goodnight, the Tournament MVP. Goodnight, who started in the circle in Saturday’s final, finished the event with a 2-0 record as a pitcher and a .429 average as a hitter. She did not allow an earned run in 13.1 innings of work and she added a home run and four RBI. Bunch hit .353; Knowles went 6-for-13, Sangster stole five bases and Addis drove in six runs.
 
Brown took the ball as the Crimson Storm’s starter for the fifth-straight GAC Championship game. She recorded her fourth complete game of the tournament and finished the week with a 3-2 record and a 1.70 ERA to garner All-Tournament honors for the second-straight year. She threw all but 2.0 of the available innings for the Crimson Storm.
 
Caitlyn Curlee and Kaley Knox joined Brown on the All-Tournament Team. Knox hit .417 for the week and Curlee added four hits. GAC Player of the Year Brooke Goad and Pitcher of the Year Victoria Taylor represented Southern Arkansas on the team while GAC Freshman of the Year Elexis Watson, from Southeastern Oklahoma State, and Harding’s Amanda Berry filled out the 12-member team.
 
The Golden Suns earned their first automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Central Regional tournament after garnering at-large appearances in 2015 and 2016. They will learn their, seed, opponent and destination during Monday’s selection show, set to stream on NCAA.com at 9 a.m. Southern Arkansas stands in line to earn an at-large berth as the Lady Muleriders entered the GAC Championships ranked second in the region