SERIES INFORMATION
No. 5-Seed ARKANSAS TECH GOLDEN SUNS 28-23 (17-15 GAC)	No. 4-Seed SOUTHEASTERN SAVAGE STORM 30-25 (23-10 GAC)
Thursday, May 4 | 11 a.m. Great American Conference Tournament | Bentonville, Ark. LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - After a well fought 2023 season, the Arkansas Tech softball team looks to, once again, win the Great American Conference Tournament. The Golden Suns finished the regular season with a 28-23 overall record and a 17-15 record in GAC play and enter the GAC Tournament as the No. 5-seed and will face the No. 4-seed Southeastern Oklahoma.

The teams will kick off the GAC Tournament schedule as the first game in the quarterfinal round and is set to begin at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning in Bentonville, Ark. at the Bentonville High School softball field. 

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Tech Tidbits
The Golden Suns enter this weeks Great American Conference Tournament game with a 28-23 overall record and a 17-15 record against GAC opponents. 

Offensively, the Golden Suns are hitting .254 at the plate this season as a team (329-for-1296) with 195 runs scored, 51 doubles, 12 triples and 21 total homeruns. Entering the quarterfinal matchup, the Golden Suns own two players hitting .300 or better on the year with at least 100 at-bats. Leading the Golden Suns at the plate is Jessica Williams who owns a .303 batting average (40-for-132). Just behind Williams is Makenzie Goins who is also averaging .300 at the plate this season (44-for-147).

In terms of power numbers, the Golden Suns boast five total players who have notched at least one total homerun on the 2023 season so far. Leading the charge in homeruns this season for the Golden Suns is Makenzie Addis with nine long bombs. Behind Addis in total homeruns on the season is Goins with five, while Brooke Prewitt and Williams have three homers each. Rounding out the list of homerun hitters for Tech is Shelby Chavers who has hit one. Leading the team in RBI's is Addis with 39. Goins and Prewitt are next with 18, while Williams has 17 RBI's on the year. 

In the circle, the Golden Suns have a team ERA of 2.60 and have struckout 198 hitters in 333.2 total innings pitched.

Four total pitchers have made at least once appearance in the circle so far this season for Arkansas Tech. Bailey Buffington leads the team in starts with 28, while Bradi Basler has 21 starts on the year. 

Buffington is 15-9 in the circle this year with a team best 1.79 ERA. She has pitched 15 complete games so far this year and has ten total shutouts. Seven of the shutouts were by herself, while three have been through a combined effort. The senior has recorded a team-high 86 strikeouts in 148.1 innings of work and currently holds opposing batters to a .251 average at the plate.

Basler is 9-10 in the circle this season with a 3.55 ERA. She has pitched ten complete games with three shutouts and has 75 strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work. 

In relief, Kaila Cartwright leads the Golden Suns with 24 total appearances, that includes one start, and Lexy Taylor has made seven total appearances with one start. 

Cartwright was apart of all three combined shutout efforts alongside Buffington. The senior has struckout 31 total batters in 61.2 total innings pitched and has a 2.27 ERA on the season thus far as well as one save on the year.

Taylor has posted a 5.25 ERA so far this season and has struckout six opposing hitters in 13.1 innings of work. 

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Scouting the Savage Storm
Entering this weekends GAC series, the Savage Storm own an 30-25 overall record and currently have a 23-10 record against GAC opponents.

SE has picked up GAC series wins against Arkansas-Monticello, Southwestern Oklahoma, Oklahoma Baptist, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist, Northwestern Oklahoma, Southern Nazarene, East Central, Harding and Arkansas Tech. The Savage Storm only GAC series loss this season came at the hands of Southern Arkansas in the final weekend of the season.

Statistically this season, the Savage Storm are hitting .259 overall at the plate as a team (368-for-1419) with 194 runs scored, 76 doubles, 11 triples and 11 homeruns. Coming into the game, the Savage Storm have three players averaging .300 or better at the plate on at least 100 at-bats. Leading the hitters is Sabetha Sands with a .338 batting average (44-for-130). Behind Sands is Cheyenne Mahy with a .316 average at the plate this season (49-for-155). 

In terms of power hitters, Mahy leads the team in homeruns with six on the season. Behind Mahy is Sands, Kady Fryrear, Sammi Dutton, Marilyn Alvarado and India McMurray each with one homer on the year to round out the list.  In terms of RBI's, Mahy also leads the Savage Storm with 25, while Fryrear has 22 RBI's. 

In the circle, the Savage Storm have a team ERA of 4.09 and have 277 strikeouts in 363.1 total innings. 

Four total pitchers have made at least one appearance in the circle this season for Southeastern. Amberlyn Walsworth leads the team in starts with 21, while Taylor Reese has started 20 games in the circle. Walsworth is 14-11 on the year with a 3.90 ERA and has a team-high 150 strikeouts in 154.2 innings pitched. Reese is 10-9 with a 3.55 ERA and has recorded 87 strikeouts in 132.0 innings.