AMC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT RUN COMES TO A CLOSE WITH 9-1 LOSS TO CC
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Baptist University softball team was one of four teams left standing following Day 2 of pool play at the American Midwest Conference Tournament and a bid to the best-of-3 championship series required beating No. 3-seed Columbia College twice in one day. Unfortunately, the 2018 season came to a close Thursday as MBU experienced a 9-1 defeat at the hands of the Cougars in five innings.
As the No. 7 seed in the eight-team tournament, MBU played the underdog role and put together a successful run at its higher-ranked opponents, winning two nailbiters over No. 2-seed Lyon (RV).
With two victories at the tournament, the softball program reached the 30-win plateau for the first time since 2012. The Spartans finish the year with an overall record of 31-22 and 13-11 in league play.
Early on, all signs pointed towards the game being a defensive battle. The Spartans got on the board first, but did it without a hit. Leadoff hitter
Jordan Corby reached on a walk,
Cami Meddows reached on a misplayed ground and
Caitlin McNiff drew a walk to load the bases with no outs.
Meagan Elder recorded her third RBI of the tournament with a 5-3 groundout to bring
Jordan Corby home.
After scoring one in the first frame, the Spartans and starting pitcher
Baleigh Koester kept Columbia in check allowing just three hits and one run in the first four innings.
With the game tied, head coach
Craig Walston made the decision to bring in
Ally Dunaway to relieve Koester in the bottom half of the fifth. Columbia took full advantage of the pitching change and racked up four hits, one walk and five runs off of Dunaway. Koester returned shortly after, however, the offensive outburst by the Cougars was sustained and with the bases loaded, CC's Olivia Denslow delivered a walk-off grand slam to deep right-center to end the game in five innings.
The Spartans finished the game with just three hits and two came from the same player. Sophomore
Jordan Corby, who reached base during each at-bat, led the way with a 2-for-2 effort.
Meghan Mollet contributed the other hit on the day.
