BENTONVILLE -- The only way Autumn Humes would get to work with a lead Saturday afternoon was to take matters into her hands.
Harding's freshman pitcher broke a 2-2 tie when she bounced a bases-loaded double into left field, and the Lady Bisons went on to claim their first Great American Conference softball championship with a 9-2 victory over Southern Arkansas at the Tiger Athletic Complex.
Great American Conference championship
Harding^001^001^7^—^9^10^1
S. Arkansas^100^100^0^—2^3^2
Humes and Kendricks-Campbell; Jenkins, Roye (4), Jenkins (7) and Casada. W-Humes, 30-1. L-Roye, 5-3. Sv-None. HR-None.
Humes' only hit of the game didn't come as expected. The ball left her bat and immediately hit the ground, but it bounced high enough to go over the head of Lady Muleriders third baseman Faith Otts' head and go down the left-field line.
"I'm thinking 'Well, let's go back out in the field, get three outs and try again,'" said Humes, who was named the tournament's most valuable player. "I didn't think it was going to bounce over her head. I thought she would snag it and touch third, then we would be done.
"Somehow, by the grace of God, it bounced over her head and we score two runs. It just ended up working out for us."
Harding (54-6) tried to take the lead earlier in the inning when pinch-hitter Briley Feringa doubled and Brookelynn Moon hit a single into center field. Rachel Miller, however, fired a bullet to the plate in time to get Lindsey Duncan, who re-entered the game after Feringa's double.
Courtney Derrick then drew a walk from Jill Roye which brought up Alexus Lawellin, who hit a grounder to second. Marina Duran, however, mishandled the ball, loading the bases and setting the stage for Humes.
"We were going to make them make that play," Harding coach Phil Berry said. "We were going to take the chance. We had our fastest runner on second and was going to try to score the run. They made a great throw, and it was a great play by the catcher.
"I still liked where we were because the game was still tied and felt like we had a little better pitching in the circle. We got a break because their second baseman is virtually going to make that play every time, and we were able to capitalize on it."
Humes' hit was just the beginning for Harding, even though Southern Arkansas (45-16) brought back starting pitcher Peyton Jenkins to the circle. Mackenzie Jones had an RBI single and Duncan added a two-run hit, while the Lady Bisons also scored runs on a hit batter and a walk, with both coming with the bases loaded.
Humes (30-1) then pitched the seventh for the win and allowed a single, but Moon threw out Miller when she tried to stretch it into a double. Humes allowed just three hits over seven innings and struck out six, but Southern Arkansas' two runs scored on its first two hits.
"Pitching was a little shaky at first," she said. "Playing SAU is always a tough game because they have such great hitters. I was a little bit nervous, but once I got settled it became a lot better. That seven-run lead made me a lot more comforable."
Harding, ranked second nationally among NCAA Division II schools, is expected to host a regional tournament next week, while Southern Arkansas expects to earn an at-large bid.
Sports on 05/07/2017