SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Hendrix and DePauw advanced to the winners bracket semi-final round in the 2009 SCAC Softball Championships hosted by Trinity University. Hendrix defeated Rhodes 7-2 in the first game of the tournament before defeating Southwestern 4-3 in the second round. DePauw advanced after defeating Trinity 3-1 in the nightcap of day one.

The Hendrix College Warriors, the SCAC West Division's # 3 seed, defeated East Division # 2 seed Rhodes College Lynx 7-2 to open up the SCAC Softball Tournament on Friday afternoon.

Hendrix (21-18) took a 4-0 lead after the top of the third, but the lead should have been 5-0 after a mental miscue by the visiting team. Hendrix's Jaclyn Herrrera hit a grand slam to break open the game with one out in the inning, but one of the runners on base failed to touch home, taking away one of the runs. Luckily, the mistake did not prove to be costly.

Rhodes scored once in the bottom of the third to break up the shutout, then added another run in the fifth to make it 4-2, but Hendrix added three more runs on another homer in the top of the seventh to seal the win. Christina Byler hit her fifth homer of the season to score all three runs.

Elizabeth Vaughan improved to 11-3 for the Warriors, while Sara Bowen of Rhodes dropped to 11-4 with the loss. Bowen did record 11 strikeouts for the Lynx, but gave up seven runs on 13 hits. Vaughan gave up just two runs on six hits in the complete-game victory, and both runs were unearned.

Vaughan and shortstop Hanna Braden collected three hits each on offense, and Braden scored the game's first run after a leadoff triple in the first inning. Allison Conn had a pair of hits for Rhodes, finishing 2-4 in the game.

GAME ONE BOX

The Trinity Tigers defeated Millsaps College 12-5 in the second game of the SCAC Softball Championship Tournament on Friday afternoon.

Trinity (13-20) went ahead 5-0 to start the game, then Millsaps got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Tigers answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to go back ahead by five.

The Majors got to within two with a three-run fifth, but again the Tigers answered with three runs to keep a comfortable lead. Trinity added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to account for the final score.

Rachel Garrett led all players with a 4-5 performance at the plate for the Tigers, scoring three runs and driving in two more. Karen MacPherson also had a three-hit game for the Tigers, scoring twice and driving in one run. Savannah Martinez was 2-2 for Trinity, while Kate Wright also scored twice.

Brittany Losey improved to 11-8 on the season with the complete-game victory, giving up four earned runs on just six hits in the game. For Millsaps, Kasey Thibodeaux fell to 6-12, giving up six earned runs and 12 runs overall in the game. Allison Tarbox reached base three times for the Majors, going 1-1 with two walks.

Trinity will face DePauw University this evening, while Millsaps will play at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

GAME TWO BOX

Hendrix College won for the second time at the SCAC Championships, defeating SCAC West Division top seed Southwestern University 4-3 on Friday afternoon.
Hendrix (22-18) scored a run in the fifth to break a 3-3 tie - a run that turned out to be the game-winner. The Warriors led 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, but Southwestern tied it 3-3 in the bottom of the inning.

Hendrix pitcher Elizabeth Vaughan improved to 12-3 with her second complete-game win of the day. Hanna Braden was 2-3 for the Warriors, while Sara Hunter drove in a pair of runs.
Southwestern will face Millsaps College at 10:00 a.m. Saturday morning, while Hendrix will await the winner of tonight's Trinity/Depauw matchup. Trinity defeated Millsaps 12-5 earlier in the day, while DePauw - the SCAC East Division top seed - earned a bye and will open its part in the tournament tonight.

Hendrix would need just one more win to advance to the SCAC Championship game on Sunday at noon.

GAME THREE BOX

DePauw's softball team, ranked 17th nationally and the SCAC East Division's top seed, defeating hosting Trinity University 3-1 in the final game of the opening day of the SCAC Softball Tournament.

DePauw (24-7) scored a run in the fourth inning to break up a scoreless tie, then added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 3-0. Trinity was finally able to get on the scoreboard in the seventh, but managed just the one run. All three of DePauw's runs were unearned, as was Trinity's run in the seventh.

Megan Soultz improved to 21-7 on the season, striking out four in a complete-game five-hitter. Soultz allowed just one unearned run in the win. Brianne Weeks had two hits to lead DePauw's offense.

Kate Wright scored the only run of the game for Trinity, while Brittany Losey pitched well in the loss. Losey gave up three unearned runs on just four hits in the game, but fell to 11-9 on the year.

Trinity will face Rhodes in an elimination game tomorrow at noon, while DePauw advances to face Hendrix College - the surprise team of the tournament so far. Hendrix defeated both Rhodes and West Division top seed Southwestern to advance to tomorrow's SCAC Semifinal.

Millsaps will face Southwestern in Saturday's opening game, followed by Rhodes and Trinity. Hendrix and DePauw then square off in the feature game of the day, followed by the winners from the earlier games.

GAME FOUR BOX

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