KOKOMO, Ind. – Day two of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Softball Championship on Friday featured three elimination games at Kokomo High School Softball Stadium as weather modified the championship schedule.

The day began with No. 5 seed Bluffton and No. 4 seed Manchester competing to try and continue their season. The Beavers jumped out to an early lead with four runs in the first and did not look back, cruising to a 7-1 victory.

Play continued with a meeting between the top two seeds – No. 1 Franklin and No. 2 Mount St. Joseph – as both squads found themselves in the loser’s bracket after day one. MSJ put together a five-run inning in the fifth, which proved to be the difference in a the 9-4 decision.

The winners of the two early games then met to see which of the pair would be going home on Friday and which would be moving on. The game got started as rain began to fall, however after two innings, play was paused for a four-hour weather delay. The bats came alive late in the game as the Beavers scored four in the top of the sixth to take a 7-2 lead. However, MSJ would three back in the bottom of the inning. The Lions had the go ahead run on-base in the bottom of the seventh, but were unable to bring her home as Bluffton held on to advance.

As a result of the long delay, Game 8 of the tournament has been moved to Saturday, May 9 at 12:30 p.m. That game features the two remaining undefeated teams in the bracket, No. 3 seed Transylvania and No. 4 seed Earlham. The loser of that game will then play the Beavers in an elimination contest.

The remainder of the tournament schedule will be determined by the early results on Saturday to avoid having a team playing three contests in a single day.

For ticketing information and to purchase championship merchandise, please visit the HCAC Softball Championship Page.

For more information on HCAC Softball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.