MARSHALL, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor softball team bounced back after a day-one loss to earn two wins Friday in the second day of action at the 2026 American Southwest Conference Softball Championship Tournament. With a 3-1 win over Howard Payne and a 4-3 victory over Hardin-Simmons, the Cru advances to the ASC Championship on Saturday.
UMHB put runners on in the second and third innings of game one against Howard Payne but couldn't bring anyone around to score. The Yellow Jackets plated one run in the fourth before the Cru answered, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth for a two-run margin.
Vic Shimabukuro singled then stole second before advancing to third on a single from
Shorey Nguyen.
Ava Perlinger scored Shimabukuro with a single, followed by an RBI from
Jordan Iverson, scoring Nguyen for a 2-1 lead. Perlinger followed, reaching on a double from
Addy Todd. UMHB loaded the bases after that, but the Yellow Jackets got out of it, limiting the damage to three runs.
Howard Payne threatened in the sixth but the Cru's defense held with runners at first and second. UMHB did not allow a runner in the seventh, sealing the 3-1 win.
Perlinger led the Cru with three hits while Nguyen and
Ryleigh Mills each added two. Nguyen, Perlinger and Shimabukuro all scored runs while Perlinger, Iverson and Todd each added an RBI. Kat Neal threw the first 5.1 innings, giving up just five hits with one run allowed. Booth threw the final 1.2 frames, earning the save with no hits or runs given up.
After a lightning delay in game two, UMHB jumped to an early start with two runs in the first inning off back-to-back RBI singles from
Ryleigh Mills and
Macy Alewine. The Cowgirls evened the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second before a two-RBI home run from
Bralyn Belk in the fourth put the Cru back on top. UMHB held that lead until the sixth inning when the Cowgirls plated another run, pulling within one.
The Cowgirls got another runner on in the seventh but another
Chloe Booth strikeout sealed the win for the Cru. UMHB threw a trio of pitchers with
Madelyn Denn tossing five innings. Denn allowed five hits with one run while
Beth Ann Johnston threw one inning, surrendering two hits and one earned run. Booth once again threw the final frame, collecting another save with no hits or runs allowed.
Mills, Alewine and Belk each recorded a hit for the Cru while Belk had a team-high two RBI.
UMHB will face No. 1 seed and tournament host East Texas Baptist University in the championship game on Saturday, May 9
th at 1 p.m. If the Cru earns a win in that contest, an if-needed game will be played 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 1:00 p.m. game.
