Walsworth Pitches SE to GAC Title Game

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Amberlyn Walsworth tossed a complete-game and allowed just one run as Southeastern scored a bit of revenge with a 2-1 win over Harding in the Great American Conference Tournament semifinals, and in doing so earned a return trip to the finals to take on Arkansas Tech at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday night.
 
The Savage Storm improve to 36-10 on the season and exact revenge on a Bisons team that swept SE in the season series to end the regular season.
 
SE will advance to take on an ATU team which the Storm took two-out-of-three from in Durant, Okla., in the second-to-last series of the season. It will also be a rematch of the championship game of the 2019 GAC Tournament which was the last time the championship was played.
 
Walsworth picked up her second-straight win of the tournament, this time getting the start and tossing a complete game, scattering five hits and one run over 7.0 innings with three strikeouts.
 
Kady Fryrear, Kyia Monahwee, Kamarie Wallace, and Augusta Duty each recorded a hit, with Fryrear and Karissa Marshall each driving in a run.
 
HU jumped in front in the bottom of the first inning on a leadoff homer to left center.
 
Both teams were quiet after that, with the Storm making some noise in the third after pushing a runner to third with two outs but were unable to bring the run home.
 
Two innings later that would not be the case.
 
Jaleigh Durst would lead off the fifth by reaching on an error and moved to second as Duty reached on a fielder's choice sac bunt pay, and both runners would move up a base on a wild pitch.
 
A Pinch-hitting Marshall would fly out down the left field line in foul territory, but Durst would come home on the sac fly to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Two batters later Fryrear would hammer a two-out RBI double into right center, plating Duty for the go ahead run and a 2-1 lead.
 
That was all Walsworth would need as she retired the next seven batters in order before the Bisons threatened with a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Unshaken, she would coax back-to-back pop outs to shortstop to close out the 2-1 win.