PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University softball season saw its season come to an end in walk-off fashion as the Wildcats dropped a 7-6 decision to the Texas A&M-San Antonio Jaguars in an elimination game at the 2026 Red River Athletic Conference Softball Championship Tournament Sunday at Wildcat Park.
Louisiana Christian (23-25) got the start it wanted as
Lexi Broussard was hit by a pitch with one out, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on
Christina Curtis's two-out, RBI double to left to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead after one.
LCU added to it in the second as
Naya Soto led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch. She moved to second on
Myah Talbert's sacrifice bunt and went to third as
Kate Daigle punched a single through the left side.
Maci Baldwin's fly ball to left did the job, allowing Soto to tag up and score for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.
Pitching and defense continued to be on point through the fourth inning as Texas A&M-San Antonio (26-18) was held off the scoreboard until the fourth inning. However, when the Jaguars finally scored, they put up a crooked number, plating four in the fifth inning to go ahead 4-2.
The Wildcats took advantage of a TAMUSA miscue to get the lead back in the sixth. A ground ball to shortstop with one out by Curtis was thrown away, allowing her to go to second base.
Emily Marks, pinch running for Curtis, went to third on
Madelyn Bourgoyne's base hit and scored on Soto's ground ball to second base. Bourgoyne moved to second on Soto's grounder and both of them moved up 60 feet on a wild pitch before Talbert came through with a base hit through the left side, scoring Bourgoyne to tie the score at 4-4.
With Soto now at third, LCU jumped ahead as
Kate Daigle lifted a fly ball to left which allowed her to tag up and score, putting the Wildcats back in front 5-4.
But the lead didn't last long as the Jaguars went back ahead on a double which scored two runs for a 6-5 TAMUSA lead as the game moved to the final inning.
Baldwin led off the seventh getting hit by a pitch. She was sacrificed to second by Broussard and moved to third on
Isabella Battaglia's fly ball to right. Bourgoyne came through with the big, two-out base hit to keep the season alive for a little while longer, dropping a double to left-center to score Baldwin and make it 6-6.
But leaving two runners in scoring position to end the top of the seventh proved to be costly in the bottom of the inning as TAMUSA came up with the big hit, a RBI double with two outs to walk off the game and bring the 2026 season to its conclusion. The Jaguars felt LCU's pain later in the day as TAMUSA's season also ended on a walk-off, falling to Texas A&M-Texarkana on a game-ending RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to end the day's slate of games.
Bourgoyne had two of LCU's five hits in the contest. She went 2-for-4 with a double, a RBI, and a run scored.
Baldwin didn't get a hit but was hit by a pitch, scored a run, and collected a RBI.
Curtis was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a RBI.
Talbert was 1-for-2 with a RBI.
Daigle was 1-for 2 with a RBI and stole a base.
Carly Carpenter (2-3) threw the final 1.1 innings and gave up three hits and a run, which was earned, with a walk and a strikeout.
Olivia Falcon got the start and went 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs, all earned, with a strikeout and three walks.
Samantha Hill threw two-thirds of an inning, allowing three hits and two runs, both earned, with two walks and no strikeouts.
