BROWNWOOD, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' softball team came back to win 9-7 over the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets and get the American Southwest Conference series sweep on Saturday in Brownwood.

Sarah Polanco got the game going with an RBI single in the second inning to get the Cowgirls up 1-0. Kadi Downs would speed all the way to third with a triple to score two more Cowgirls and get the lead to 3-0 in the second.

Howard Payne got a run in the second to make it 3-1 before the Cowgirls scored again in the fourth inning from a Karis Hessert double. The rest of the fourth inning spelled trouble for the Cowgirls with a couple of errors leading to six Yellow Jacket runs, five of which were unearned, for a Howard Payne lead of 7-4.

The Cowgirls cut into the lead in the fifth inning with a sac fly from Sarah Diessner and an RBI from Polanco to make it 7-6 HPU going into the final inning.

With the game on the line and down a run in the top of the seventh, Aubrianna Salazar led off with a double for the Cowgirls. Down 7-6, graduate senior Peyton Newman rocked a homerun to score two and take the lead 8-7 for Hardin-Simmons in the final inning.

Downs singled home an insurance run for HSU and the defense and Cowgirl pitcher Haven Williams slammed the door on the Jackets, not allowing a baserunner in the bottom of the seventh and getting the win 9-7.

Newman and Polanco had three hits each for the Cowgirls while Hessert, Salazar, and Downs added two hits apiece.

Kylie Ruiz started and had a strikeout in a little over two innings for HSU. Kelly Shackelford came in for an inning and Williams got the win throwing the final four with a strikeout.

The Cowgirls move to 7-1 and 5-1 in ASC play with a big conference showdown coming to Ellis Field in Abilene for three games against the ETBU Tigers beginning with a doubleheader on Monday night at 4 p.m.

--- www.hsuathletics.com ---