A walk-off home run from senior
Morgan South propelled Henderson State to an 11-3 victory over Southern Nazarene in the second game of a Great American Conference double-header on Saturday.
It was Senior Day at Dee White Field, as the Reddies picked up a 5-0 win in the first contest as well, moving to a 3-1 series victory over SNU.
In the first game, neither team got on the board until the sixth inning, when HSU exploded for all five of its runs.
HSU scored its first run on an error by the SNU first baseman, as the bases were loaded and
Ashleigh Erb advanced home.
Destiny Garza would then step to the plate, blasting a grand slam over the center field wall which scored South,
Alexis Morton, and
Keirsten Seahorn.
Pitcher
Michelle Sorensen would then close out the complete game from the circle, moving to 17-10 on the year and striking out 11 batters in the contest.
In the second game, the Reddies picked it up offensively, belting out 12 hits and scoring six runs in the opening inning.
The senior South got things rolling for the Reddies with a single to center field which scored
Caroline Cullins from third.
Garza would then once again come through for HSU, smashing another grand slam over the wall for her second home run and eighth RBI of the day, scoring South,
Hope Patterson, and
Ashlyn White.
On HSU's next at-bat,
Ashleigh Erb would blast a solo home run over the left field wall to send HSU up 6-0 and give the Reddies major momentum.
After a pitching change, SNU attempted a comeback, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth inning to pull within four.
However, Garza would once again find a way on base with a single to right field allowing South to score in the bottom of the fifth inning to give HSU a 7-2 lead.
SNU put up one run in the top of the six on a Lauryn Toilolo homer, but HSU would respond in the bottom half of the inning when Seahorn connected on a double that plated Sorensen and Cullins to send HSU back up six, making the score 9-3.
The crowd then stood to its feet as South stepped to the plate in her last at-bat at Dee White Field.
South would make the most of it, bringing the Reddies to an emotional victory with a two-run blast over the left-center field wall to end the game.
The senior from Wynne, Ark. would finish the game going 3-for-4 with three hits and three RBI.
Madison Calvert picked up the win to improve to 11-11 on the year, while Katelyn Brown suffered the loss for SNU.
With the victory, HSU has now clinched a spot in the Great Amerian Conference Tournament hosted in Bentonville, Ark. on April 28-30.
HSU returns to action on the road in Shawnee, Okla. to take on Oklahoma Baptist in a four-game series beginning with a double-header on Friday at 3 p.m.
