CLEVELAND, Miss. – Hardin-Simmons' softball team advanced to the next day of the ASC Championship Tournament with a first-round win against Sul Ross State and a second-round loss to top seed Belhaven to move into the single elimination bracket.

The Cowgirls fought off a tough Sul Ross State Lobos team in the first game for Hardin-Simmons in the 2022 ASC Championship Tournament.

Aubrianna Salazar gave the Cowgirls the lead with an RBI double in the fifth. Emma Adair pinch-hit for another clutch RBI on a single for an important 2-0 Cowgirl lead.

The Lobos got one back with a Valverde homerun in the sixth to cut it to 2-1, but the Cowgirls held with the help of a Salazar save, ending the game on a strikeout to finish off Sul Ross.

Haven Williams pitched a great game, scattering seven Lobo hits and allowing just one run with five strikeouts in the win.

The Cowgirls took the win with just four hits. Karis Hessert, Sarah Diessner, Salazar, and Adair had a hit for HSU with the RBIs from Salazar and Adair.

Hardin-Simmons drew into the No. 1 seed Belhaven Blazers for the second Cowgirl game of the tournament.

Belhaven went up with two in the first, but the Cowgirls got one back on an error to pull to 2-1. The Blazers would add four runs in the fifth to seal the game at 6-1, taking down HSU.

The Cowgirls had five hits in the game, with two from Diessner, and one by Mason McCord, Hessert, and Newman. Kaylen Washington pitched for the Cowgirls with three strikeouts in the loss. 

The Cowgirls come to a record of 28-14 after the 1-1 day at the ASC Tournament. The next game for the Cowgirls is an elimination game against Mary Hardin-Baylor starting at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Delta State. 

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