MARSHALL, Texas – Winning their ninth American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship, the #3 East Texas Baptist University softball came from behind for a 2-1 victory over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. This is the first time in program history that ETBU won the tournament championship at Taylor Field. ETBU is now 39-4 while UMHB wraps up the season at 28-16.

Beatriz Lara recorded another impressive performance in the circle, picking up five strikeouts and surrendering just three hits in seven innings of work. Daniella Solis had two RBI that came with the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning. Mariah Delgado continued her steady work, chipping in two hits while Emily Deramus added two hits of her own. Allie Dalle had UMHB's only run with a homerun. In the circle, Baleigh Grogan dropped to 9-7 overall after surrendering two runs on seven hits in six innings.

Lara earned ASC Tournament MVP for her efforts and is now 21-1 on the year as she joined Deramus, Solis, and Presyle Cox. Kourtney Cummings, Grogan and Dalle each represented the Cru on the All-Tournament Team.

Both teams waged a defensive battle from the opening pitch, keeping the plate free of any runs through 3.5 innings. The Cru finally broke free in the bottom of the fourth inning when Dalle stepped up to the plate. The designated player would send the pitch over the left field wall for the 1-0 advantage. The Tigers escaped the remaining of the inning unscathed with a 1-0 deficit until the sixth inning.

ETBU responded in the sixth inning as Anderson singled out to the shortstop to advance to first base. This set the stage for Solis, who sent a pitch by Grogan out of the park for the two-run homer, giving the Tigers the advantage at 2-1. UMHB kept ETBU scoreless for the remainder of the contest but were unable to chip away at the one run deficit as ETBU claimed their ninth ASC Championship.

Following the thrilling victory, Head Coach Janae Shirley talked about the excitement of winning a championship on Taylor Field.

"What an amazing feeling it is to win a championship here at home! It's something we haven't had the opportunity to do in the past. We're so thankful for the support that we've had over this past weekend. Everyone did an amazing job of helping to give us the best opportunity we could to win. This is a special team and it's fun to see them play and enjoy championships together," Shirley said.

ETBU will await to see if they will be a host for the NCAA Regional Tournament on the selection show on Monday, May 6^th.