CLINTON, Miss. – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team earned the Runners Up title at the 2021 American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament. UMHB finished the tournament with a semifinal 8-6 win over Hardin-Simmons University to get into the championship contest. The Cru fell 13-4 to No. 8 East Texas Baptist in the championship match, earning the Runners Up title for the 2021 season.  
 
UMHB opened with a semifinal contest against Hardin-Simmons University. The Cowgirls took a 1-0 lead in the first inning but UMHB scored three in the bottom of that frame to take the lead. Milly Cesare scored on an RBI from Elissa Elliott before Elliott and Bailey Eggleston both scored on an error. UMHB added one more run off an RBI single from Cesare in the second inning. Peyton Newman scored in the top of the third for the Cowgirls, reaching on an RBI double from Sarah Diessner. UMHB scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth and gave one up in the fifth, going into the bottom of the fifth inning with a 5-3 lead. The Cru pulled away with a three-run frame, scoring two runs on an Elisabeth Paul double and one on a groundout from Lexi Harris. UMHB gave up three runs in the top of the sixth but pitched around base runners in the seventh to secure the 8-6 victory. Harris and Cesare led the Cru with two hits each while Stover and Paul had a team-high two RBI. Eight different Crusaders scored runs in the contest. Bayleigh Grogan earned the win for the Cru. Grogan threw four innings with 9 hits and two runs allowed. Camryn Rucker threw three innings in a save for UMHB. Rucker gave up six hits and four runs in her outing. UMHB totaled eight runs on 10 hits with no errors while the Cowgirls had six runs on 15 hits with four errors.
 
Defending ASC champion East Texas Baptist opened the championship game with a two-run inning in the first. Elissa Elliott cut the Tigers' lead to one in the second inning, scoring on an RBI single from Bailey Stoker. East Texas Baptist used an 11-run frame in the third to pull away. The Tigers scored 11 runs on 11 hits to take a 13-1 lead. UMHB added two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth but was unable to fight off the Tigers, falling 13-4. UMHB rotated through all four of the team's pitchers in the contest. Bayleigh Grogan opened the game, throwing 2.1 innings with three hits and four runs allowed. Jules Martinez and Kami Flores faced a combined 10 pitchers in the third inning, giving up seven hits and one runs. Camryn Rucker finished the game for the Cru, throwing 1.1 innings with three hits allowed. Elliott and Bailey Eggleston led the Cru with two hits each while Elliott scored a team-high two runs. UMHB totaled four runs on six hits with no errors while the Tigers had 13 hits on 13 runs with one error.


UMHB ends the season at 27-14 overall, earning the program's fifth American Southwest Conference Runners Up title. East Texas Baptist earns the league's automatic bid with the championship and advances to play in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Tournament.