SHAWNEE, OKLA. – The East Central University softball team made it a clean sweep of Harding, with 5-4 and 8-0 wins in the final day of the Great American Conference series.

The Tigers (9-9, 5-4 GAC) were led by junior Lauren Reeves, with a .833 batting average, five hits, one run and two RBIs.  Junior Jordynn VanPelt added a .571 average, four hits, two runs and four RBIs.

Juniors Lacey Paulk and Marissa Shaffer each picked up a win in the circle, with Paulk through a complete-game shutout, with six hits allowed and five K's.

ECU will next face Southern Nazarene, March 20-21 at Tiger Field.

Game 1 – ECU 5, Harding 4
The Tigers were the first to get on the scoreboard, with a single run in the second inning, off singles form senior Lacey Williams-Wenholm, Reeves, and senior Peyton Watson.

The Bison countered with a four-run fifth inning to take a 1-4 lead.

ECU fired back and tallied two runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 3-4 and then tied the game at four in the sixth.

The winning run of the game came from VanPelt, who hit a home run for the 5-4 final.

Game 2 – ECU 8, Harding 0
The second game was all ECU, when the scoring got started in the fourth.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on singles from Williams-Wenholm, junior Taylor Davis and Reeves.

ECU added another run in the fifth for a 3-0 lead before pushing the game out of reach with five runs in the sixth inning for the 8-0 final.  The scoring was sparked by doubles from junior Autumn Suydam and senior Samantha McGraw.