Columbia, KY – The seventeenth-ranked University of the Cumberlands softball team advanced to the Mid-South Conference Championship game before falling 1-0 to top-seeded Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, closing the tournament with a 2-1 record. The Patriots finish the season at 36-18 overall while now waiting to see whether they receive an at-large bid to the NAIA Opening Round.
PATS BLANK CAMPBELLSVILLE TO STAY ALIVE
Cumberlands kept momentum in the tournament with a 4-0 win over Campbellsville in an elimination game, using a big sixth inning to break the contest open.
After five scoreless frames, the Patriots finally pushed across four runs in the sixth. Kristen Smith started the rally with an RBI bunt single, Aniyah White followed with a two-run single, and Jae Jae Phillips capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
The Patriots finished with eight hits in the win, led by Jenna Fabela, who went 2-for-3. White drove in two runs, while Smith and Phillips each added an RBI.
Jessica Cord was dominant in the circle, tossing a complete-game shutout while allowing just three hits and four walks with two strikeouts. Campbellsville was held scoreless despite collecting three hits.
LINDSEY WILSON ENDS TITLE RUN IN EXTRAS
Cumberlands then turned around and faced top-seeded Lindsey Wilson in the championship game, where the Patriots were held to just two hits in a hard-fought 1-0 loss.
The Blue Raiders and Patriots battled through seven scoreless innings before Natalie Wandrie delivered the game-winning solo home run in the eighth.
Cumberlands had a pair of singles in the game, one apiece from Grace Ross and MaKenzie Henderson, but could not push a run across against Lindsey Wilson starter Kayden Murray, who threw eight shutout innings and struck out six.
The Patriots used three pitchers in the championship game. Brenna Parker worked 4.1 scoreless innings, Emily Delgado added 1.2 scoreless innings, and Cord took over in the seventh before Wandrie's walk-off home run ended the game.
UP NEXT
Cumberlands will now await selection for an at-large bid to the NAIA Opening Round.
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