BENTONVILLE, ARK. – The East Central University softball team fell in their first two games of the Great American Conference Championship Tournament, ending the season with a 31-26 record.  The Tigers first fell to Arkansas-Monticello (0-2) and then to Ouachita (1-5).

ECU saw the lone run of the day scored by junior Alissa Taylor, who hit a solo home run against Ouachita.  Taylor, a 2017 All-GAC First Team selection, hit .429 for the day, with three hits a run and an RBI.

Sophomore Ellanee Allison and senior Haley Hyatt added .333 batting averages, with two hits each.

Senior Kelbie Crelia started both games in the circle, throwing a complete game against UAM and all but the final out of the second game.  Crelia, a 2017 All-GAC Honorable Mention, struck out five batters and allowed 15 hits and seven runs in 12.2 innings.

UAM 2, ECU 0
The opening game of the day was just like the last four games of the regular-season that were played between ECU and UAM, with one team earning a shutout win.  However, this time it was the Cotton Blossoms (34-21) who game out on top with a 0-2 score.

The Tigers struggled to get their bats going in the game, recording just three hits to six by UAM.

The Cotton Blossoms scored their first run of the game in the second inning due to an error.  UAM then added a second run in the third on a home run.

Ouachita 5, ECU 1
Ouachita (23-33) started the scoring early, taking a 0-1 lead after the top of the first inning, before adding a second run in the fourth for the 0-2 advantage.

Taylor then cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the fifth inning with her solo home run.

The teams kept the score at 1-2 through the sixth inning before Ouachita tallied three runs in the top of the seventh for the 1-5 win.