Tweet #theGAC  BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Southeastern Oklahoma State ended a 10-year Great American Conference Softball Championship drought by defeating Southern Arkansas, 3-2, on Saturday evening at the Tiger Athletic Complex.

Marilyn Alvarado, who had not appeared in either of the first two GAC Championship games for the Savage Storm (33-25) made an immediate impact when she hit a first-inning home run. Two innings later, she scored on a Kady Fryrear single that doubled the Southeastern lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, SAU (41-13) evened the contest on a two-run home run by Kamryn Moctezuma. Southeastern pushed across the decisive run in the sixth inning when Bailey Beard doubled in Iliana Olivares.

Cheyenne Mahy went the distance in the circle for the victorious Savage Storm. She struck out three and did not walk a batter in improving to 7-4. Reese Taylor, who picked up her second win of the tournament in Saturday afternoon semifinal win against Southern Nazarene, earned Tournament MVP honors. Mahy, Beard, Alvarado and Fryrear earned All-Tournament honors.

After falling short in the final in 2014, 2019 and 2021, Southeastern joined Tech and SAU as the only three GAC schools with multiple softball championship titles.

Moctezuma, Regan Dillon and Mariah Hamilton represented SAU on the All-Tournament Team alongside Harding’s Emma Curry and Riley Price plus Southern Nazarene’s Liana Heshiki and Hannah Morales.

Southeastern assured itself a spot in the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships, its third such appearance since joining the GAC, and its first since 2014. SAU, Harding and Oklahoma Baptist all hope to earn at-large bids. The selection show streams on NCAA.com at 9 a.m. CT.