ALEXANDRIA, La. – Down to its final few outs on two separate occasions, the No. 2 seed Martin Methodist Softball team rallied twice to keep its season alive Tuesday afternoon at the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round on the campus of LSU-Alexandria.
With the wins, the RedHawks (47-15) punched their ticket to the LSU-Alexandria Bracket championship game against No. 3 seed Williams Baptist (Ark.) on Wednesday afternoon. The wins also lifted the RedHawks to 47 total victories on the season – the most in program history. The previous high mark came back in 2005 when the RedHawks won 46 ballgames.
The RedHawks used a 3-1 victory over No. 4 seed Oklahoma Wesleyan in the opener to advance to a second elimination contest later Tuesday afternoon. The late-inning magic continued in the second contest as the RedHawks rallied past No. 1 seed and host institution LSU-Alexandria with a 4-3 victory.
The RedHawks will now meet No. 3 seed Williams Baptist, which defeated the RedHawks, 2-0, in the first ballgame of the LSU-Alexandria Bracket on Monday. The Eagles (37-19) kept their positive momentum rolling on Tuesday with a 5-2 upset of No. 1 seed LSU-Alexandria.
The RedHawks, who are in the loser's bracket, will need to defeat the Eagles twice if they are to return to the NAIA Softball National Championship Final Site for the first time since 2009.
First pitch in Wednesday's contest is set for 2 p.m. at Generals Field in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Martin Methodist 3, Oklahoma Wesleyan 1:
The RedHawks almost saw their day come to an end in their very first contest as they trailed 1-0 in the top of the seventh with one out. Taylor Moore reached on a one-out bunt that first baseman Courtney Pritchett could not catch. Moore scooted over to third on a single to left-center from Taylor Hurford. That's when Courtney Grooms doubled to deep left field to plate both runners and push the RedHawks for the first time in the ballgame. Grooms came in to score two batters later on an RBI single from Callie Pendley to push the RedHawk lead to 3-1.
Despite putting the potential game-tying run on base, RedHawk starter Brittany Bishop wiggled out of the seventh-inning jam to earn her 27th victory of the season. The win in the circle marks the most by a RedHawk in a single season since Sally Gale won 27 ballgames in the 2008 campaign. The senior allowed just four hits, issued just one walk and struck out five in the victory.
Martin Methodist 4, LSU-Alexandria 3:
After a thrilling finish in the first contest of the afternoon, the nightcap provided an equally exciting conclusion as the RedHawks again struck for three runs in the top of the seventh to keep their season alive.
With two runners aboard and two out, the RedHawks season hinged on a pair of at-bats as Callie Pendley roped a sharply-hit ball on the infield to reach via fielder's choice. On the ensuing at-bat, Dharianna Familia cleared the bases with a triple to deep right-center that lifted the RedHawks back on top.
The host school did not go down without a fight, however, as the Generals (47-12) plated a two-out run to pull within one of the RedHawks.
Senior Emily Robb slammed the door shut on a potential comeback with a two-out strikeout that lifted the RedHawks to their first ever Opening Round championship game. Brittany Bishop tossed five innings, but was lifted in the sixth by Robb, who nailed down the final six outs of the ballgame to secure the win (10-3) in the circle.
