For six innings it appeared Sam Houston was going to steal an upset softball victory on the road over fourth place Abilene Christian Friday night.

Going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bearkats held on to a slim 2-1 margin thanks to a home run by second baseman Dani Allen in the top of the third.

But Wildcat third baseman Casey-May Huff knocked a 3-2 pitch out of the park for a walk-off grand slam home run to give ACU its seventh victory in its last eight games with a 5-2 win over Sam Houston.

Wildcat right-hander Hannah Null allowed the Bearkats only two hits. Both were by Allen as the senior produced a hit in the opening frame before adding a home run in the third. Null retired Kat batters three-up, three-down in five of the game's seven inning. She totaled five strike outs.

 Abilene Christian, on the other hand, had baserunners each frame. ACU ended up stranding 11 runners as the Wildcats totaled six hits and saw 11 ACU batters walked.

Allen's home run to left field, her second of the season, scored Bailey Watson after the right fielder walked in the third inning.

ACU's only run in the first six innings came in the bottom of the fourth on a home run by catcher Cara Hoover. Twice the Wildcats had a runner on third base but could not score. In the bottom of the seventh, however, ACU loaded the bases on a double by Hoover and a pair of walks. Next came Huff's winning shot.

Freshman Lindsey McLeod took the loss in the circle for the Bearkats.

Abilene Christian ups its record to 20-18 for the year and 13-6 in Southland Conference play. Sam Houston now stands 14-26 and 6-10 in the league. The two teams will complete the series in a 12 noon doubleheader Saturday.