EAST PEORIA, Ill. | EastSide Centre - McKendree Univeristy softball (33-21, 18-10) dropped from the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament on Thursday after winning its first elimination game of the day against Rockhurst, 2-1, but then fell to Missouri S&T in the final game of the day, 7-5, closing down their conference tournament title push while they now await their NCAA postseason fate. The Bearcats grabbed the win over Rockhurst in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the ninth with heroics from senior infielder
Sarah Roth as she doubled to drive in two runs. The battle against the Miners became an offensive showing early as both teams hit the ground running with the Bearcats unable to push through winning scores, closing out the weekend for the McKendree squad.
Thursday, May 1
Game 1 vs #8 Rockhurst | Elimination Game
The Bearcats headed into the first elimination game of the tournament against #8 Rockhurst following a tough contest against #5 UIS to begin the conference tournament. McKendree and Rockhurst proved to be a battle throughout, with no runs being scored over the first eight innings.
The Bearcats tallied the first hits as freshman catcher
Morgan Spodarek singled in the bottom of the second while the fifth saw junior pitcher
Sami Huck single and junior outfielder
Laynee Tapp also dropping in a base knock. Huck, who tossed a complete game in the win, held the Hawks without hit until the top end of the seventh, where her no-hit bid ended.
RU put up one run in the top of the ninth after stringing together a single and stolen base before bringing in the leading run on a double. McKendree stepped up to the late-game challenge in the bottom half of the ninth, firth with sophomore
Molly Bartz reaching via single while junior shortstop
Lauren Harris walked for two runners on base. Senior infielder
Sarah Roth went to the plate, going for a first pitch double out to right center to push home Harris and Bartz to claim the contest, 2-1, and eliminate RU from the tournament.
Huck earned the win with a dozen punch outs and just two hits.
The Bearcats moved on to face the Miners of S&T in the final game of the second day of the championship tournament.
Game 2 vs #7 Missouri S&T | Elimination Game
McKendree hit an early stride with energy following their walk-off, as the squad put up two runs to begin the game agaisnt S&T. The first run came in as Tapp blasted a double and advanced to third with Harris making it home for a run. Harris and Roth opened the game by knocking singles before Tapp's at-bat, with Roth being thrown out on Tapp's RBI-single in a highly-contested play. Tapp then was pushed through to home with a single from senior outfielder
Heaven Lawrence, making it a two-run advantage.
S&T knotted and then took the lead in the bottom end of the second inning, building a 6-2 by the end of the third. In the fourth, the Bearcats built up a comeback with two runners reaching in freshman infielder
Paisley Twait and Spodarek with Bartz coming to the plate. Bartz, who bashed her first collegiate home run and grand slam earlier this season, connected and sent a ball beyond the left field wall to make the contest a 6-5, one-run affair.
The Bearcats created multiple other opportunities in the contest, unable to push through the runs to extend their stay at the conference championship tournament. The Miners added one run to their total, as McKendree fell 7-5 to finish out its stay in East Peoria.
The five-run outing for the Bearcats featured three-multi hit outings with Tapp (3), Roth (2), and Harris (2) leading the offensive while Bartz (3), Lawrence (1), and Tapp (1) each pushed through runs for their squad. Huck closed out the game over the final three innings with five punch outs in the game.
UP NEXT
The Bearcats will await their NCAA Regional fate with the conclusion of the GLVC Tournament and the NCAA Selection Show following the weekend.
McKendree was ranked in both editions of the NCAA Midwest Regional rankings, most recently coming in at #8 in the release on April 30.
