Softball Breaks No. 4 Harding's Winning Streak
April 9, 2017
ADA – The East Central University softball team started the Great American Conference series with No. 4 Harding by breaking the Bisons 25-game league winning streak and handed they just the fourth loss of the season. The Tigers claimed a 1-0 victory in game one of the day before falling 1-11 in six innings in the night cap.
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As a team, the Tigers (21-19, 12-16 GAC) recorded just six hits on the day, while allowing 17, but sophomore Madison Thompson led ECU with a .500 average, two hits and two RBIs. Junior Alissa Taylor added two hits of her own, including a double.
Senior Kelbie Crelia earned the win in the circle, throwing a complete game shutout, allowing four hits and striking out three.
The teams will battle again Saturday, April 8 with a double header starting at noon at Tiger Field.
ECU 1, Harding 0
The opening game was a defensive battle, with no team getting a runner on base until the third inning when Crelia drew a walk for ECU.
The Bisons (36-4, 26-2 GAC) had a strong start in the fourth, with the first two runners getting on base and advancing to second and third, but the Tigers defense held strong and sent the next three batters back to the dugout.
The score remained knotted at zero until the bottom of the sixth inning when ECU got on the scoreboard. After the first out, freshman Jaclyn Willis was walked and went to second on a passed ball. The next batter was retired, but Thompson hit a single that dropped in center field between three Harding defensive players to score the only run of the game.
Harding 11, ECU 1
The Bisons got the scoring going in the third inning with a single run.
However, the Tigers countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at one. Taylor started the inning with a double, sophomore Mariah Ewy was walked and Thompson got the RBI on a single to left field.
That is when Harding started to take over the game, scoring a run in the fourth and fifth innings before opening up the lead to 1-11 with an eight-run sixth.
ECU was able to get runners in scoring position in the sixth inning, but was unable to get a run across the plate to end the game at 1-11.
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