ARKADELPHIA – Kaitlyn Felder and Abbie Moore provided late game heroics as the Reddies responded from a 4-0 deficit to defeat Emporia State 5-4 in the final game of the Alvy Early Memorial Classic.

Michelle Sorensen entered in the top of the sixth inning, kept HSU within striking distance, and wound up with her first victory of the 2019 season.

The Reddies finished the weekend 3-2 after dropping the first of two games on Sunday, as mistakes and missed opportunities proved costly as HSU fell to Maryville, 9-4.

Ashleigh Erb had a productive day at the plate and in the field, finishing the afternoon 3-for-6 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs while making several difficult plays from third base. Kailey Reese also provided a spark for the Reddies, going 4-for-8 with two RBIs.

The Reddies (6-6) begin Great American Conference play next weekend when HSU welcomes Arkansas Tech for a four-game set with doubleheaders scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. and Saturday at 12 p.m.

Game Two: Henderson State 5, Emporia State 4
Trailing 2-0, the Reddies threatened in the bottom of the second after Moore reached with a walk and Cecily Rodriguez singled into the outfield grass behind the first baseman. Following a textbook sacrifice from Alexis Morton, the Reddies had two runners in scoring position with one out, but couldn’t capitalize, and remained in a 2-0 hole.

HSU put runners on the corners in the third inning and loaded the bases in the fourth, but were unable to push across runs in either situation.

Neither the Reddies nor the Hornets threatened in the fifth frame, but it looked as though HSU’s missed opportunities were going to prove the difference when ESU doubled the lead to 4-0 with back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning. Sorensen took over for Mallory Brewer to get the last two outs of the fifth and keep the Reddies in the contest.

The Reddies finally broke through in the sixth. Rodriguez reached first after being hit by a pitch, bringing Felder to the plate to pinch hit. Felder feasted on the first pitch, and sent a rainbow home run over the left center field wall, as HSU cut the lead in half, 4-2.

With the bases cleared after two quick outs, it looked as if HSU would have to wait until the seventh for another opportunity. However, two pinch-hit singles from Sam Smith and Christianna Camp restarted the Reddies’ rally and brought Reese to the plate. Reese came up with a clutch triple that scored two and tied the game 4-4.

Sorensen remained on the mound for the seventh and worked around an error to open the inning as the Reddies came back up in the seventh with a chance to win it. Moore didn’t waste any time, as the freshman sent a no-doubt home run high over the left field fence, allowing the Reddies to walk off in style and beat the Hornets 5-4.

Game One: Maryville University 9, Henderson State 4
HSU slapped eight hits, including a line-drive home run from Erb, but were unable to climb out of an eight-run deficit as the Saints defeated the Reddies 9-4.

The Saints scored three in the first, and added another five runs in the top of the second to lead 8-0. The Reddies responded and put runners on the corners in the first but failed to execute a double-steal and were left empty handed. HSU did get it going in the bottom of the second when Erb laced a frozen rope over the left field wall to put the Reddies on the board and cut the deficit to 8-2.

HSU’s pitching staff settled into the contest, allowing just one run in the final five frames, as Cayleigh Guthrie and Sorensen combined for 5.1 innings and allowed just four hits while striking out six.

The Reddies pushed two runners across in the bottom of the seventh after a bunt single by Rodriguez and a double down the left field line from Erb scored her. Ashlyn Taylor followed with a single back up the box to bring home Erb, but the HSU comeback came no further, and the Reddies fell 9-4.

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EMPORIA, Kan. — The University of Arkansas at Monticello baseball team was taken down in its opening match-up of the 2017 NCAA Central Regional by number one seed Emporia State, 10-8.

Arkansas-Monticello (32-20) struggled out of the gate against the Hornets of ESU (42-11), allowing seven unanswered runs through three total innings of play.

UAM got onto the scoreboard in the top of the fourth after an Andres Rios sacrifice fly to right field brought home Brian Ray to put the score at 7-1 in favor of Emporia State.

The Weevils scored once again in the top of the fifth on a Lathan McFadden solo home run to left center, and by the end of the inning, UAM trailed ESU 10-2 overall.

The top of the eighth saw the Arkansas-Monticello offense begin to catch fire as the Weevils put up three runs in the inning on RBI singles from Guy Halbert, Alex Smith, and Rios to put the score at 10-5.

Ray followed up in the top of the ninth inning with a three-run home run to close the gap to just 10-8, but the offensive attack unfortunately could not complete the comeback, and the Weevils fell 10-8 to the Hornets.

Grant Black started on the mound in the game as he threw just 2.2 innings, and Drake Streeter would come in to provided 1.1 innings of relief work afterwards.

Jared Libke pitched a total of 4.0 innings, and allowed just one earned run, four hits, and totaled three strikeouts to help slow down the offense of ESU.

Arkansas-Monticello returns to action in the NCAA Central Regional tomorrow, Friday, May 19, with first pitch set for 1:15 p.m. against number five seed and arch rival, Southern Arkansas

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SEARCY—The Harding Lady Bisons were named NCAA Division II Central Region champions after staging a furious 18-point comeback, and they got to do it all in front of their home crowd.

The No. 2 seed Lady Bisons (30-3) defeated the top seed Emporia State Lady Hornets (29-5), 58-56, in an instant classic on Monday night. The win advanced the Lady Bisons to an Elite Eight appearance next week in Columbus, Ohio.

The Bisons are the first team in Great American Conference history to make it to the Elite Eight. The win gave Harding 30 wins on the year, the most in team history.

The game was played in front of a sold out Rhodes-Reeves Field House. Bisons coach Tim Kirby said the crowd’s energy was huge for his team’s success.

“The crowd really got into the game, I can’t say enough about that,” Kirby said. “They were worth some points tonight.”

Sydnie Jones and A’ndrea Haney led the Bisons in scoring, each with 16. Caroline Hogue also added 13. Kathryn Flott led the Hornets with 18 and Addie Lackey added 13.

The Bisons outscored the Hornets 34-18 in the second half, 16-8 in the fourth. The Hornets came in averaging 78.2 points per game, but the Bisons held them 22 points below their average.

The Bisons made it a one-point game after Hogue converted an and-1 layup to make it 50-49 with 6:07 remaining in the fourth. The next basket did not come until 3:53 when Jacee Kramer connected on two free throws to extend the Hornets lead to 52-49.

Each team traded buckets for the next three minutes until Jones gave the Bisons a 57-56 lead after connecting on a layup with 41 seconds remaining. This was their first lead since 7-6 early in the first quarter.

Riley Rose split a pair of free throws with nine seconds left that put the Bisons up two. The Lady Hornets called a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining and the crowd was electric. The Hornets had a nice look at a right-side three but Addie Lackey could not connect and Rose secured the rebound to end it. Haney credited her teammates’ effort and the crowd when describing the last stop.

“I think it comes down to heart and wanting it more. That’s all defense is,” Haney said. “We had faith in each other that we could do our jobs and the crowd really pumped us up.”

Coach Kirby spoke highly of Haney after the game and got emotional when talking about her importance to the team.

“I brag on A’ndrea all the time. Her toughness and the great shape she is in pays off in games like this,” Kirby said. “This is the toughest person I’ve ever met.”

The Hornets held a 38-24 lead at half and their lead grew to 18 with 8:55 left in the third. Just when the Bisons seemed to be done, they went on an 18-6 run to close the third quarter only trailing by six. Five different Bisons scored during the run, including a three from Peyton Padgett to make it 48-42 Hornets with 2:32 left in the third. Neither team scored to finish the quarter.

The Bisons went cold in the second and the Hornets took advantage as they outscored them 24-13 in the quarter. Offensive rebounding was a key factor in the Hornets run, as they scored 12 second chance points compared to the Bisons two. The Hornets had 21 offensive rebounds on the night.

The first quarter was tightly contested as the biggest lead was four. The Hornets outscored the Bisons 10-6 in the paint and took a 14-11 lead into the second.

The all-tournament team was announced after the game. Bisons Hogue, Haney and Jones were selected along with Hornets Kelly Moten and Flott.

The Elite Eight begins on March 21.

1^st      2^nd     3^rd     4^th       Total

HU      11       13       18       16         58

ES       14       24       10         8         56

Lady Bisons (30-3) – Sydnie Jones 16, A’ndrea Haney 16, Caroline Hogue 13, Riley Rose 8, Peyton Padgett 3, Sydney Layrock 2

Lady Hornets (29-5) – Kathryn Flott 18, Addie Lackey 13, Jacee Kramer 12, Kelly Moten 6, Kyrstie Miller 5, Jessica Wayne 2

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