MARSHALL, Texas – A combination of a no-hitter from Beatriz Lara and one strong offensive inning, the #3 East Texas Baptist University softball team kicked off their American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament with a 5-0 win over Hardin-Simmons University. ETBU is now 37-4 on the year and will play Mary Hardin-Baylor for the right to go to the championship game on Saturday.
 
Lara pitched all seven innings allowing one walk while striking out 11 batters. She would be backed up by two-hit games from Hannah Garcia (three RBI), Sabrina Salts, and MacKenzie Anderson. HSU starting pitcher Gabby Ortega lasted 3.1 innings allowing five runs on nine hits.
 
After a scoreless inning and a half, ETBU would breakthrough first with a four-run second inning. A Salts RBI single and a Garcia RBI double put ETBU up 3-0. Mariah Delgado would then follow with a single to right making the score 4-0. Lara would retire the first 10 batters of the game before HSU had a base runner on with an error in the top of the fourth. Garcia would drive in ETBU's fifth run in the bottom of the fourth inning on a single.
 
HSU would have a baserunner in scoring position following a hit by pitch and a sacrifice bunt in the top of the fifth but Lara would get back-to-back strikeouts as the no-hitter stayed in tack. The sixth inning saw another Cowgirl threat with two on before Lara kept them off the hit column again. It would be a 1-2-3 inning for Lara as she got her second no-hitter of the season and ETBU won 5-0 in the seventh.
 
ETBU will now play Mary Hardin-Baylor at 7:00 p.m. tonight for the right to go to the ASC Championship game.