WALK OFF KEEPS WILDCATS ALIVE

4/28/2017 4:59:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

Down to the final out of the season, the Louisiana College softball team found a way to keep the game and their conference championship dreams alive with a game-tying and game-winning hit from a freshman and a senior. Taylor Hammock tied the game and Jordan Mason delivered the RBI single up the middle to knock Concordia University out of the tournament with a 5-4 win, and set a match-up with American Southwest Conference rival East Texas Baptist University in an elimination game at 7 p.m. Friday night.

The game started off great for the Lady Wildcats. Savannah Settle struck out two batters in the top of the first and got the third on an easy pop-up to end the inning, the first of her four straight shut down innings. Settle retired the first 14 batters she faced in the game before a bunt right in front of the plate with 2-out in the bottom of the fifth gave Concordia their first base runner.

With Settle dealing in the circle, the Wildcats seemed to be in control of the game after scoring three runs in the first three innings. A lead off single and a steal of second by Shelby Bergeron put her in scoring position for Mattie Stine. As she has done all tournament, Stine came through with a base hit to score Bergeron from second and give LC the 1-0 lead just three batters into the game. After a base hit from Taylor Hammock advanced pinch runner Kourtney Leblanc to third, senior Jordan Mason grounded a ball to the right side allowing Leblanc to score easily from third.

In the bottom of the third, it was the top of the lineup once again that got things going for the Wildcats. Sami Walters reached on a lead off single, and eventually found herself on third after another pair of hits from Stine and Mason. This time, Morgan Dennis would come through for LC with an RBI base hit up the middle putting the Wildcats ahead 3-0 after three innings of play.

The score remained the same until the top of the sixth, when in a cruel twist of fate, Concordia hit a 3-run home run to right to tie the ball game. The batter, Whitten, was the same one that hit a 3-run home run in February that beat the Wildcats in Pineville, in the top of the sixth as well. The Tornado seized the momentum with the game tying swing and used it to take the lead in the top of the seventh. A lead off single and an error put runners at first and second for CTX with no-out. A base hit up the middle scored the go ahead run putting them ahead 4-3.

After a pitching change to bring in Chelsea Lewis, and a full count foul out to left for the first out of the inning, the defensive play of the game came on a tapper in front of the plate that was initially mishandled but then picked up by catcher Haley Vezinat who threw out the runner at third who had strayed to far from the base for the second out. Lewis got a grounder back to her in the circle for the final out and LC returned to the dugout down by a run, with the top of the lineup coming to the plate.

Bergeron reached on a 1-out single, but was called out on a force at second when Sami Walters reached on a fielder's choice, putting the Wildcats one out away from elimination. Mattie Stine hit a rocket to second that kicked off the glove of the second baseman allowing her to reach first and move Walters all the way to third. Stine then stole second, representing the winning run for LC. Freshman Taylor Hammock looped a ball into shallow right scoring Walters easily from third to tie the game at four, but LC wasn't doe yet. Senior Jordan Mason ripped the second pitch she saw right back up the middle to plate Stine and put LC in the semi-final against ETBU.

"Obviously it was very exciting," Mason said, "but I couldn't have done it without my teammates. From the top of the inning to the bottom we came through and fought as a team and they were behind me the whole way and I was able to do it because of them."

In the game, the Wildcats tallied 13 hits, all of them coming from the first six batters in the lineup. Mattie Stine had another stellar performance at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Stine also hit her 14th double of the season and Bergeron stole her 32nd base of the season, setting a new single season steals record for Louisiana College. Savannah Settle pitched 6.0 innings, allowing four runs, three of them earned, on six hits with five strikeouts. Chelsea Lewis pitched the seventh inning allowing just one hits an no runs.

LC will take on ASC rival ETBU in another elimination game at 7 p.m. on Friday night, with the winner advancing to the semi-final game against the loser of the winner's bracket game between UT Tyler and UT Dallas, on Saturday. Stay connected to Louisiana College softball by following @LC_sftball or @LC_Wildcats on Twitter.

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