Alva Review-Courier -

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Henderson State hung with Harding for three innings on Friday night, but the Lady Bisons broke the game open in the fourth and fifth to get past the Reddies 6-2 and eliminate them from the 2018 Great American Conference Tournament.

Unlike Henderson's first two opponents in the GAC Tournament, Harding wasted no time getting the scoring going. The Lady Bisons opened the game with back-to-back doubles to grab a 1-0 lead in the blink of an eye.

It did not take long for the Reddies to respond. In the bottom half of the inning, Bethany Allen reached on a single up the middle, and Lindsey Williams on an error, to give Henderson runners on second and third with no outs. Madie Green took advantage, and laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, which scored Allen to tie it up 1-1.

After two scoreless innings, Harding began to break the game open. In the fourth, the Lady Bisons' bats got going, as they used five hits to score three runs and open up a 4-1 lead on the Reddies. Harding continued to widen the gap in the fifth, when Katlyn Gordon shot a two RBI single into left center to extend the Lady Bisons' lead out to 6-1.

Needing five runs to tie it up, the Reddies got one back on a deep home run from Alexia Lopez in the sixth, but could not string a rally together, as they were held in check for the final three innings and ultimately fell to the Lady Bisons' 6-2.

All five Henderson seniors shined in their final college game. Sydney Bonner, making her third start in three days, gave the Reddies three innings of work, allowing just one earned run on four hits. Offensively, Allen led Henderson with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate, Lopez notched her fifth and final home run of the year, Courtney Warren laced a double in her final collegiate at-bat and Olivia Trapp picked up a hit in her only at-bat of the contest in the fifth.

The loss concludes the 2018 season for Henderson, who finishes with a 33-25 record.