CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Tech advanced to the winner’s bracket final of the Great American Conference Softball Championships for the first time in program history as the Golden Suns scored a 9-2 victory against Harding on Friday from the Tiger Athletic Complex.
 
The Golden Suns (41-17) scored in each of the first three frames to build a 6-1 advantage. Makenzie Addis delivered a two-run home run in the second inning. One inning later, five straight Golden Suns reached en route to three runs crossing. Sarah Coronado and Addis worked based loaded walks sandwiched around a single by Sydnie Henson.
 
In the seventh, Megan Goodnight capped a 4-for-4 performance with a two-run home run and Bailey Bunch recorded her third hit of the game, a run scoring triple.
 
The offensive outburst provided more than enough support for Tech starter Kristen Dempsey. She limited Harding (31-25) to a run on two hits over 4.0 innings of work. Bailey Shaffer entered in the fifth inning and tossed 3.0 innings of one-run, four-hit softball to earn her third save of the season.
 
Madi Trump drove in both of the Lady Bisons’ runs as part of a 2-for-4 day. She singled home Hannah Fisher in the third inning and plated Kyndal Pirtle with a seventh-inning single.
 
The Golden Suns will face Southern Nazarene at 11 a.m. on Saturday from the Tiger Athletic Complex. The Lady Bisons will face Henderson State in an elimination matchup. That contest will start at 7 p.m. on Friday. In the regular season, Tech and Southern Nazarene split a four-game set. The Golden Suns scored 37 runs in the series.