LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Harding University’s Autumn Humes was named the 2017 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II National Freshman of the Year. She was presented the award on Wednesday evening at the NCAA Division II Championship banquet in Roanoke, Virginia.

A second-team NFCA All-American and first-team All-Central Region selection, Humes was key in helping the Lady Bisons put together a record-breaking season for the young program. The rookie hurler helped the second-ranked Lady Bisons in the circle and at the plate, hurling a no-hitter in Harding’s first-ever NCAA Tournament game and keying their run to the Super Regionals as the Central Region’s top seed. Additionally, she was instrumental in the HU’s 58-9 overall and 40-4 conference records, both program records.

Garnering the Great American Conference (GAC) Freshman of the Year award, Humes is tied for first in the NCAA with 16 shutouts, while her 33 wins and 292 strikeouts rank third and seventh, respectively. She posted a 33-3 mark with a 1.19 ERA and seven saves, leading the GAC in those categories, while also holding opponents to a .176 batting average. Offensively, the Bald Knob, Arkansas, native hit .346 with 10 doubles, seven homers and 53 RBIs.

The award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among freshmen softball student-athletes throughout Division II. Dixie State’s Janessa Basset was the inaugural recipient and Colorado Christian’s Charlotte Romero earned the honor in 2016.

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SEARCY – No. 2-ranked Harding used four walks, two hits, two wild pitches and a hit batter to score six runs in the top of the seventh inning and defeat No. 21 Southern Arkansas 7-2 in the winners’ bracket final Saturday at the NCAA Division II Central Region 1 Tournament at the Harding Softball Field.

With the victory, Harding (56-6) advanced to Sunday’s championship game at 10 a.m. Southern Arkansas (46-17) will play Saturday at 4 p.m. against the winner of Winona State and Missouri Western State.

Harding trailed 2-1 entering the seventh, but the Lady Bisons’ first three batters in the inning walked before Southern Arkansas replaced starting pitcher Victoria Taylor with reliever Peyton Jenkins.

Jenkins hit Courtney Derrick with a 1-2 pitch to force in the tying run. Harding took the lead for good with a bases loaded walk to Alexus Lawellin. Peyton Mills singled to drive in a run and make it 4-2. Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell‘s infield single that hugged the first base line drove in another run. Harding tacked on two more on a wild pitch that scored Mills and an Amanda Berdon sacrifice fly that scored Autumn Humes.

Humes (32-1) pitched a complete game for Harding, allowing two runs on three hits with five walks and eight strikeouts. Her 32 wins are the most by any pitcher in the history of the Great American Conference.

Southern Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the second on an RBI double by Faith Otts. Harding tied it on a Mills RBI single in the top of the third. The Lady Muleriders took the lead on a solo home run by Monica Islava in the bottom of the inning. It was Islava’s 14th home run of the season.

Taylor (18-7) took the loss. She allowed four earned runs on two hits with seven walks and five strikeouts.

Mills was 2-for-2 with a run and two RBIs. She was the only player with two hits in the game.

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SEARCY – The 2nd-ranked Harding softball team swept Arkansas-Monticello on Sunday in a Great American Conference doubleheader. The Lady Bisons won 7-5 and 3-0. With the wins on Sunday Harding won the GAC Regular Season Championship with six games remaining in the regular season.

The Lady Bisons improved to 45-5 overall and 35-3 in the GAC. Arkansas-Monticello falls to 31-17 overall and 24-12 in the GAC.

Harding will be the No. 1 seed in the GAC Tournament held May 4-6 in Bentonville, Ark. The Lady Bisons will open the tournament against the No. 8 seed (to be determined) and will play at 1 p.m., on Thursday May 4th at the Tiger Athletic Complex.

In Game One, Arkansas-Monticello got on the board in the first inning scoring two runs on three hits and a Harding error. McKenzie Rice scored the first run off the error and Kaylee Freeman singled up the middle to score Maranda Clendenin from second for the second run.

The Blossoms took a 5-0 lead in the second, scoring three runs on five hits and a Harding error. First two runs came on a Harding error and the third run came on a wild pitch.

Harding rallied for five runs on six hits and an error in the fifth inning. Peyton Mills drove in the first two runs when she singled up the middle and Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell drove Mills in for the third run. Amanda Berdon tied the game when she hit a double down the left field line to score Hendricks-Campbell and Autumn Humes.

The Lady Bisons took their first lead in the seventh scoring two runs off four hits. Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell drove in the first run and Amanda Berdon hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score the second run.

After five scoreless innings in Game Two, Harding made it a 3-0 game in the sixth inning on two hits and a Arkansas-Monticello error. Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell scored the first run when Brookelynn Moon reached on an error. Courtney Derrick hit a double down the right field line to score Madi Trump and Moon.

The two teams will wrap up their four-game series on Monday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.

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SEARCY – The 6th-ranked Harding softball team swept Southeastern Oklahoma on Saturday in Great American Conference action. It marked the fifth GAC series sweep of the season. The Lady Bisons got a walk-off hit by Autumn Humes to win game one 4-3 in 12 innings and in game two, Harding won 8-0 in six innings.

Harding moves its GAC record winning streak to 25 games after the doubleheader sweep.

The Lady Bisons improves to 33-3 on the season and 23-1 in the GAC. Harding maintained its two game lead over Southern Arkansas in the GAC standings with its wins on Saturday. Southeastern Oklahoma falls to 14-18 overall and 8-14 in the GAC.
Game One (No. 6 Harding 4, Southeastern Oklahoma 3 – 12 innings) 

– After four scoreless innings, Harding got on the board first when Madi Trump walked with the bases loaded.

– Southeastern Oklahoma answered back in the top of the sixth when Destiny Riddle hit in a single through the left side to score Symphoni Shomo.

– The Savage Storm broke the 1-1 tie in the 11th when Connor Harmon scored on a ground out.

– Harding tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell hit single to score Courtney Derrick.

– Southeastern Oklahoma scored another run in the 12th when Thompson hit a double to center field that scored Symphoni Shomo.

–  Courtney Derrick singled in Harding’s first run in the 12th and with the bases loaded Autumn Humes hit a single to left field that scored Derrick.
Game One Key Statistics 

– Harding had 12 hits in the game with four players with two.

– Southeastern Oklahoma had 13 hits led by Symphoni Shomo who went 5-for-6 with two runs scored.

– Harding has a 4-1 record in extra innings this season.

–  Hannah Johnson picked up the win for Harding to improve to 17-1. She threw the complete game, gave up 13 hits, three earned runs, walked two, struck out four and threw 156 pitches.

– Emily Cudd received the loss and falls to 11-8 on the season. She threw 11 1/3 innings, gave up four earned runs, walked three, struck out one and threw 140 pitches.
Game Two (No. 6 Harding 8, Southeastern Oklahoma 0) 

– Harding made it a 1-0 game in the first when Courtney Derrick scored on a RBI ground out by Peyton Mills.

– The Lady Bisons made it a 5-0 game in the fourth when Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell hit a grand slam to left field. It was the fourth grand slam by Harding player this season and the first by Hendricks-Campbell.

– Harding scored another run in the fifth when Amanda Berdon walked with the bases loaded.

– The Lady Bisons made it an 8-0 game in the sixth. With one out and the bases loaded, Peyton Mills hit a double to right center that scored the winning runs.
Game Two Key Statistics

– Harding had six hits in the game with Courtney Derrick and Peyton Mills each going 2-for-3.

–  Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell‘s four RBIs was her first of the season. It was fourth by a Lady Bison.

– Southeastern Oklahoma had five hits led by Kennedy Salyers who went 2-for-3.

– It was the Lady Bisons 14th shutout of the season.

–  Autumn Humes got the win and improves to 15-1 on the season. She picked up the complete game shutout. It was her seventh of the season. She gave up five hits and struck out 11. It was the third time this season Humes has struck out 10 or more batters. She struck out a season-high 12 against Minnesota State Mankato.

– Ashley Moore received the loss for Southeastern Oklahoma. She falls to 1-5 on the season. Moore walked five and struck out two.

Up Next 

– Harding will travel to Russellville, Arkansas on Tuesday to play the first half of its four-game GAC series against Arkansas Tech. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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By Dustin Schandevel

Everyone gets that feeling. The feeling when you know you are good at something and better than others. For Autumn Humes, her feeling was about softball and it occurred to her when she was 14 years old.

“When I was in eighth grade, I decided I wanted to play softball in college,” Humes said. “I got recruited by Harding in ninth grade and I committed that following summer.”

Humes was on her first softball team when she was 6 years old and her mom was the coach. She started pitching when she joined a traveling team at age 12. Humes said things did not start out easy for her.

“I really wasn’t the best when I was younger,” Humes said. “I was the last string pitcher on my tournament team. Athleticism doesn’t come naturally to me and I had to work really hard to be successful.”

Humes credited her father, Chris Humes, on molding her into the person and player she is today.

Bald Knob Bulldogs

“He has always pushed me to be the best I could be,” Humes said. “He taught me everything I know about softball and even got to coach me in high school.”

Humes grew up in Bald Knob, Arkansas and in fifth grade, things changed. Her family moved across town and with the new house came a barn that became a very special place for Humes.

The barn was originally set up for the previous owner to teach gymnastics, but once the Humes purchased it, remodeling was underway.

Humes’ father replaced the flooring with indoor and outdoor carpet and turf. He also set up nets for hitting cages and bought a pitching machine. Humes said she practiced in the barn with her dad every night and worked to reach the goals she set for herself.

“He knew a lot about the game and he learned with me,” Humes said. “We would experience stuff together through practice and games.”

Humes grew fond of hitting after she connected on her first home run in seventh grade. Before the hit, she had convinced herself she would never hit one over the fence.

“I hit last on my team. Back when you were little, they put the bad kids at the end.

“I had nothing to lose and when the ball was pitched I swung as hard as I could and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I hit it over the fence!’”

Humes said she was then motivated to be a solid hitter and pitcher at the same time because a lot of players could not do both successfully.

Entering her freshman year at Bald Knob High School, Humes said people were already talking about her. The team had two senior pitchers on the roster and they were excited to add someone who grew up playing travel softball.

“I didn’t really know what to expect going into my freshman year,” Humes said. “It was a learning experience for me.”

The Bulldogs reached the state semifinals that year but lost. Humes admitted to something she had never said out loud when describing the loss.

“I remember when we met in the circle with one out and bases loaded and I addressed my team.

“I told them that I wanted to win so badly and then we lost. I learned I was being selfish.”

Her sophomore year was a year of firsts on and off the field. Her parents fostered her two younger cousins, a 5-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy, and later adopted them. Humes went from having one sister to three total siblings. She said times were hard at the beginning of the adoption.

“When we adopted them we took in the first boy of the family,” Humes said. “My mom didn’t know the first thing about having a boy.

“It was really hard on my family to adjust from having two kids to four. I remember seeing my parents cry because they didn’t think the girl would love them like she loved her biological parents.”

Photo courtesy Harding Sports Info.

Looking back on it now, Humes said God was working through the situation.

“You can just see that God put them in our life for a specific reason,” Humes said. “I look back and realize that it was worth every struggle because they’re awesome.”

On the field, Humes led her team to the school’s first ever state championship. She said it was a solid year for her and it was an improvement from freshman year.

Humes faced challenges and pressure during her junior year.

“Bald Knob is such a small town and so everyone knew who I was and there were a lot of expectations,” Humes said. “My junior and senior year, everybody expected us to win state since we did the previous year and I was expected to strike everyone out being the only pitcher on the team.”

Humes said she had to remind herself that she was a good player no matter what the outcome of each game was. The community saw just how good she was after she led her team to another state title, finishing with a 30-2 record.

Humes went 26-1 pitching with a 0.41 ERA. She struck out 246 batters in just 155 innings pitched. She only allowed 55 hits and walked 23 batters. She pitched 11 shutouts and three perfect games.

As for behind the plate, Humes had a .543 batting average with 11 home runs and 67 RBIs on the year.

Humes was awarded Gatorade Player of the Year after leading her team to back-to-back state titles. One softball player from each state was selected for the award.

She started giving pitching and batting lessons to girls in her town and surrounding areas her junior year. She said that girls would meet her at the barn and it became a summer and fall trend.

“I remember when I was that little and I had the same dream they did and I took lessons from someone,” Humes said. “I do get paid, but I would do it for free if that’s what it came down to.”

Humes entered senior year with mixed emotions.

“I felt a lot of pressure my senior year because I knew it was my last year and it would be terrible if we didn’t win it all,” Humes said. “I was also reminding myself that whatever happens, I’ve had an awesome run and I had things to look forward to with Harding coming up.”

The Bulldogs went on to win the state championship for the third year in a row and Humes’ pitching numbers improved.

She went 31-0 on the year with a 0.34 ERA. She struck out 295 batters in 185 innings. She pitched 19 shutouts and three perfect games. She was a four-time 3A First Team All-State selection.

She had a .527 batting average with 11 home runs and 54 RBIs. She was awarded Gatorade Player of the Year for Arkansas for the second year in a row. She also finished high school with a 4.02 GPA.

Humes said she committed to Harding so early in her career so she could enjoy the game without feeling stress from recruiters.

“Pressure was lifted off my shoulders. When you’re being recruited, you feel like you have to be perfect all the time because someone’s always watching.

“When I committed, I could just play softball and have fun because I knew what the future held.”

Humes said that she saw girls commit to Division I schools and then not play half their careers. She wanted to attend a school where she would play the whole time she was there and knew Harding was the right place.

“I feel like God has given me the talent to play the game and in return I get to bring honor and glory to Him,” Humes said. “I love Harding because we’re given the opportunity to pray on the field and no one says anything.”

Humes traveled to Nicaragua with Highway Church of Christ the summer before her freshman year at Harding and got to teach the girls how to play softball. She has plans to return next summer.

“The guys can play baseball or soccer and the girls are just stuck in the house with nothing to do,” Humes said. “I pitched underhanded and everyone was surprised because they didn’t understand that a girl pitched like that.”

Humes joined the Lady Bisons knowing she would not be the ace of the pitching staff and it has worked out well for her.

“It’s great because I don’t have so much pressure on my shoulders and I’m sure she (senior pitcher Hannah Johnson) feels the same way,” Humes said. “When I’m not at my best, she’s there to pick me up and vice versa so it works out really well.”

The biggest adjustment for Humes has been playing without her parents in the stands. Her parents moved to Dumas, Texas last November.

“My parents being far away is hard because I came to Harding since it was close to home and then they moved to Texas,” Humes said. “I’m used to them attending every single game.”

The Lady Bisons are currently 29-3 and Humes holds a 13-1 record with a 1.90 ERA. She’s batting .397 with six home runs.

Humes threw the first perfect game in Harding’s history on Mar. 13 against Ouachita Baptist University. She had nine strikeouts in five innings pitched.

“I want to lead us as far as we can go and God wants us to go,” Humes said. “One of my main goals for this year is to be dependable.”

Bald Knob Bulldogs graphic from Twitter.

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The Lady Bisons improves to 29-3 on the season and 19-1 in the GAC. With a Southern Arkansas loss today, Harding has sole possession of first place in the GAC standings. Southern Nazarene falls to 8-24 overall and 4-16 in the GAC.
Game One Key Innings (No. 11 Harding 6, Southern Nazarene 2) 

–  Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell led off the second inning with a home run to center field to put Harding up 1-0.

– Southern Nazarene answered back in the bottom of the second on a leadoff home run by Katelyn Brown.

– The Crimson Storm took a 2-1 lead in the fourth off a solo home run by Hannah LeBeau.

– Harding erupted for four runs on three hits in the fifth highlighted by a three-run home run by Peyton Mills. It was her third of the season. Autumn Humes also homered in the inning. It was her sixth of the season.

– The Lady Bisons made it a 6-2 game in the seventh when Amanda Berry singled in Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell from second.
Game One Key Statistics 

– Harding had nine hits in the game with Alexus Lawellin, Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell and Madi Trump each having two hits.

– Southern Nazarene had eight hits led by Hannah LeBeau who went 3-for-3.

–  Hannah Johnson got the win for Harding to improve to 15-1. She pitched six innings, gave up eight hits, two earned runs and struck out four. Autumn Humes pitched one inning of relief and picked up her third save of the season.

– Katelyn Brown received the loss for Southern Nazarene. She pitched seven innings, gave up nine hits, five earned runs and struck out six.
Game Two Key Innings (No. 11 Harding 17, Southern Nazarene 5 – 5 Innings) 

– Harding got on the board quick in the first inning, scoring three runs on two hits. Amanda Berdon doubled in two runs for the Lady Bisons.

– Harding made it a 9-0 game in the second when it scored six runs on five hits. Peyton Mills had a three-run home run to center and Alexus Lawellin singled in two runs. Amanda Berry knocked in the third run for the Lady Bisons.

– Southern Nazarene scored all of its runs in the third on three hits. Amy Reynolds highlighted the inning with a three-run home run to center.

– Harding added two runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to make it a 17-5 game.

Game Two Key Statistics

– Harding had 17 hits in the game led by Peyton Mills who went 4-for-4. Mills also scored four of the Lady Bisons runs which was the most by a Harding player in a game.

– Southern Nazarene had four hits by four different players.

–  Autumn Humes picked up the win for Harding to improve to 13-1 on the season. She pitched five innings, gave up four hits, five earned runs and struck out seven.

– Southern Nazarene threw four different pitchers in the game as Brooke Tate received the loss and falls to 0-7 on the season.

Up Next 

– Harding will return home next weekend when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma in a four-game series starting Friday at 2 p.m., at the Harding Softball Field.

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A busy week around the conference got underway early. And Monday was a pretty special day for Harding, in both women’s basketball and softball. Also, we get to hear from both Tim Kirby and A’ndrea Haney.

GAC Weekly Mar. 14, 2017

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ARKADELPHIA – The 17th-ranked Harding softball team completed the four-game sweep of Ouachita in Great American Conference play on Monday. The Lady Bisons won 7-0 and 11-0 to win the series 4-0.

Autumn Humes threw the first perfect game in school history in game two of the doubleheader.

The Lady Bisons improves to 21-3 on the season and 11-1 in the GAC. Ouachita falls to 10-14 overall and 4-8 in the GAC.

Game One Key Innings (No. 17 Harding 7, Ouachita 0) 

–         Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell hit a two-run home run to left field to give Harding a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning.

–         In the sixth inning, Peyton Mills hit a single to center field that score Courtney Derick from second to make a 3-0 game.

–         Harding scored four runs on five hits in the seventh inning. Peyton Millsdoubled in two runs, and Courtney Derrick and Autumn Humes each had a RBI.

Game One Key Statistics 

–         Harding had 10 hits in the game, led by Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell who went 3-for-3. It was her first three-hit game of the season. Courtney Derrick, Alexus Lawellin and Peyton Mills each had two hits in the game.

–         It was the sixth time this season Mills has had a multiple RBI game.

–         Ouachita had five hits, led by Sarah Johnson and Kelly Powell who each had two.

–         Harding starting pitcher Hannah Johnson got the complete game win. She improves to 11-1 on the season. Johnson gave up five hits and had one strikeout against 28 batters.

–         Kelsey O’Brien received the loss and falls to 5-6 for Ouachita.

Game Two Key Innings (#17 Harding 11, Ouachita 0) 

–         Amanda Berdon got things started for Harding when she singled to right field to score Kimmy Hendricks-Campbell from second.

–         Harding added two more in the third on two hits. Kimberly Slaughter scored on an error and Brookelynn Moon doubled in Amanda Berdon.

–         Courtney Derrick singled in another run for Harding in the fourth.

–         Harding scored seven runs on six hits in the fifth inning. Autumn Humeshighlighted the inning with a three-run home run to center field. It was her fourth of season.

–         Humes earned the perfect game after sitting the Tigers down 1, 2, 3 in the seventh. It was Harding’s first perfect game.

Game Two Key Statistics

–         Harding had 12 hits with four players having two hits.

–         Autumn Humes improves to 9-1 on the season. It was her ninth complete game. Humes faced 15 batters and struck out eight.

–         Marissa Butler received the loss and falls to 3-4. She threw four innings, gave up three earned runs and struck out four.
Up Next 

–         Harding will return home this weekend to face Oklahoma Baptist in a four-game GAC series starting Friday at 2 p.m., at the Harding Softball Field.

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