McElroy Gem Lifts SE to Win over HU

Box Score BENTONVILLE, Ark. – The game started on Thursday and ended on Friday, but Southeastern finished a long opening day of the Great American Conference tournament with a 3-1 victory over Harding to stay in the winner's bracket.
 
The contest did not start until 11 p.m. on Thursday night, thanks to a pair of extra-inning games to finish out the opening round, one of which was SE's 1-0 win over Ouachita Baptist in the first round.
 
The win pushed the Savage Storm record to 37-15 on the year heading into a 3 p.m. contest against Southern Arkansas on Friday afternoon with a berth in the tournament's championship game on the line for the winner.
 
In the win over HU, Mindy McElroy turned in her second brilliant outing of the day.
 
After tossing eight innings in the opener, McElroy finished her day by tossing a two-hitter, allowing one unearned run and adding a strikeout in a complete game win that moved her record to 23-7 on the year.
 
Laramie Beal turned in a two-hit outing at the plate with an RBI, while Sydney Kramer added a triple McElroy picked up a single.
 
Beal drove in a run with a double, while Jessica Simmons picked up an RBI on a sac fly and Rachel Jones added an RBI on a squeeze bunt, matching how she drove in the winning run in the first game of the day.
 
The Bisons struck first in the top of the fifth inning, taking advantage of a leadoff single coupled with a Storm error that allowed the first run of the game to come across.
 
SE answered in the bottom half, with Arianna Jones drawing a one-out walk followed by a McElroy single up the middle which pushed Jones from first to third.
 
Rachel Jones stepped in to pinch hit and squeezed home her second RBI of the day, plating Arianna Jones to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Shaina Crites came on to run for McElroy at third base and scored on a Jessica Simmons sac fly to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Sydney Kramer then led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple before Shayna Crites came on to run for her there.
 
Milam would score one batter later when Laramie Beal doubled to left center to take a 3-1 lead which would hold to be the final after McElroy retured the side in order in the top of the seventh.