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BENTONVILLE, Arkansas — The No. 7 seed University of Arkansas at Monticello softball team is set to face off against No. 6 seed Arkansas Tech in a Great American Conference Championship Tournament elimination game Thursday night following a 9-3 loss to No. 2 seed Southern Arkansas in the opening round.
Southern Arkansas jumped out to a quick lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and then rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the second. UAM kept the Muleriders (33-23) off the board for the remainder of the game.
The Blossoms (26-29) plated their three runs in the top of the third inning off a pair of SAU errors and an RBI groundout from freshman McKenzie Rice.
SAU ended the game with a 12-6 edge in total hits. Sarah Higginbotham and Chelsea Ivy led SAU with two hits each. All nine of SAU's starters registered a hit in the contest. UAM's hits came from sophomore Kali Piha, senior Beth Johnson, junior Lacy Blanchard, senior Brittany Eitel, freshman Korie Parker and senior Hannah Pendley.
Hanna Gill (10-3) earned the complete-game win for SAU with three runs (all unearned) off six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Senior Courtney Wilson (11-14) took the loss on complete-game fashion, allowing nine runs off 12 hits with three strikeouts and four walks.
UAM's elimination game against Tech is set for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Memorial Park in Bentonville. The game will not be covered on the GAC Sports Network, but will be available on the radio at KHBM-FM 93.7 in Monticello and online at uamsports.com.
