Alva Review-Courier -

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Henderson State used another excellent performance in the circle from Sydney Bonner, and an offensive explosion in the sixth inning, to defeat East Central 5-1 on Friday afternoon at the Great American Conference Tournament.

With the win, the Reddies will now advance to play No. 6 seed Harding at 7 p.m. tonight at the Tiger Athletic Complex in Bentonville, Arkansas, in a second elimination game.

Much like in its GAC Tournament opener on Wednesday, the Reddies found themselves in a pitcher's duel early, with chances few and far between offensively through the first five innings. With the game still scoreless in the bottom of the fifth, Henderson finally broke through with help from some good fortune. Ashleigh Erb got things started when she hit a long drive to right field which just escaped the grasp of the ECU outfielder Claresha Clemons. As the ball careened off the fence, Erb made her way to third with just one out to give the Reddies' their best scoring opportunity of the day.

The Reddies' next batter, Selena Mendoza, put a ground ball into play, but it was not hit well enough to easily score Erb, who went for home. On her way to the plate, the ball came back to the ECU catcher, Tarah Hilton, who caught Erb in a rundown on the third base line. As Erb retreated, Hilton threw the ball back towards third baseman Catherine Barrera, but Barrera misplayed it off of her glove, which allowed Erb to turn back again for home. Barrera frantically tried to find the ball and send it to the plate, but her throw was late and off the mark, which allowed Erb to score, and Mendoza, who had been running the whole time, to reach third base. The wild sequence gave Henderson a 1-0 lead and all the momentum in the game.

The good bounce in the fifth opened the floodgates for the Reddies in the sixth. With the bases loaded, Mendoza came through for the second time, as she laid down a perfect bunt just in front of Hilton, the catcher. With the ball in no-man's land, there was no play to be made, which allowed Bethany Allen to score from third and extend the Henderson lead to 2-0. Moments later, with two outs and the bases still juiced, Courtney Warren provided the biggest hit of the day, as she lined a ball into the gap in right center. Warren's double plated three runs for the Reddies and pushed their advantage out to 5-0.

Although the Tigers did scratch their only run in the seventh, it was not nearly enough, as Bonner, with solid run support behind her for the first time all game, shut ECU down to give Henderson a 5-1 win.

Bonner was again terrific for the Reddies and picked up the complete game win by allowing just one run on five hits. Lindsey Williams, Allen and Erb each had two hits on the day to lead Henderson at the plate, while Warren notched three RBIs on her double in the sixth and Mendoza two RBIs on her two clutch at-bats.