BENTONVILLE -- Many of the eight teams involved in the Great American Conference softball tournament were in the area in mid-February for the UAM 8-State Classic, which took place just as their seasons had started.
Now they return to the Tiger Athletic Complex with hopes that their season will not end with two losses over the next three days.
Great American Conference Softball Tournament
at Tiger Athletic Complex, Bentonville
Today’s Games
Game 1: No. 3 Southeastern Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Southern Nazarene, 10 a.m.
Game 2: No. 2 East Central vs. No. 7 Arkansas-Monticello, noon
Game 3: No. 1 Henderson State vs. No. 8 Southern Arkansas, 2 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Arkansas Tech vs. No. 5 Harding, 4 p.m.
Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 6 p.m.*
Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 8 p.m.*
Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 11 a.m.
Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 3 p.m.
Game 12: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 5 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Game 14: Championship — Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 winner, noon.
Game 15: Championship Game No. 2 (if necessary), 2 p.m.
*— Games to be played at Memorial Park
"We definitely want to stay on the high school field and not drop into that loser's bracket," said Henderson State coach Beth Jackson, whose team won its first conference championship in school history this season. "We have done well in tournament play over the last two years, and we hope to continue that trend and get a conference title instead of finishing second or third."
The double-elimination tournament features four first-round games today. The four winners will return to the Tiger Athletic Complex for games tonight, while the other will try to avoid elimination in games played at Memorial Park.
Henderson draws the top seed and a first-round game against a deceptive No. 8 seed in Southern Arkansas, which split its two games with the Lady Reddies this season. The Lady Muleriders finished conference play with a 16-16 record -- good enough for a fifth-place tie with Harding -- but they were given a winning percentage nullification penalty by the NCAA for playing six conference games with an ineligible student-athlete, which dropped them to eighth.
"Southern Arkansas has a great team with some outstanding hitters," Jackson said. "We had two slugfests with them this year, and I told our team we have to be prepared for that. We will have to outhit them and play our game."
The championship game is slated for noon Saturday, with a second game to be played if necessary. The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Regional tournament, while other teams would have to wait for a selection show Sunday to see if their seasons will continue.
At-large bids are given to those teams who finish in the top eight of the regional rankings and didn't win their conference championships. Arkansas Tech, the No. 4 seed in the GAC tournament, was ranked fifth in this week's Central Region rankings, while Henderson was fourth and East Central -- the No. 2 seed -- is 10th.
"We want to win that conference tournament and leave no doubt," Jackson said.
Sports on 04/30/2015