Doane and Midland Lutheran battled on Tuesday afternoon in what could have been a turning point in each team's quest for a conference championship. In the end, both teams came away with one win and remained in the same spot they were entering the games. Doane currently sits third in the GPAC after Tuesday's action.
In game one, both teams took advantage a wind gusts near 50 mph and combined for five home runs. The Tigers received home runs from Stephanie Mosley and Jennifer Montoya.
Midland Lutheran struck first with two runs in the fourth but Doane responded with four in the bottom of the inning. The Tigers took a 5-2 lead into the sixth only to see the Warriors hit two of their home runs as they took a 6-5 lead. Doane responded with a run in the bottom of the inning and the two teams went to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, MLC got their leadoff batter on base and Erinn Brue followed with what proved to be the game-winning hit, a two-run home run. Doane was held scoreless in their half of the eighth.
In game two, Doane plated a run in the second to score first. Midland Lutheran drove in two runs in the fourth inning to take the lead but Doane came back in the sixth to tie the game at 2-2. In the sixth, Whitney Poole singled and stole her 21st base of the season. Kristin Schmidt followed with an RBI single to tie the game.
The game went extra innings and Tiger starter Jennifer Liddell found herself in plenty of trouble after three batters in the eighth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Liddell induced a grounder back to the mound and she threw home for a force out. With the bags still full, Kayla Gataivasa laced what looked like the go-ahead hit between second and third. Joy Vasa, however, made a diving stab for the out and threw to first base for the double play. She could have gone to any bag as all the Warrior runners were off on the contact.
In the bottom of the inning, Hannah Kroese reached on an infield single. She actually popped up and the ball on a normal day would have gone out of play. The huge wind gusts paid dividends and blew the ball into fair territory by two or three feet as it fell to the ground untouched. Poole tried to put down a sacrifice bunt but Kroese was forced out at second base as Poole reached first base. Kristin Schmidt followed with a single to move Poole to third and Alyssa Ledon followed with a sacrifice fly to win the game for the Tigers.
Up Next:
The Tigers will host York College in a newly scheduled doubleheader on Wednesday, April 16. The first game is scheduled for 3:30 PM. The conclusion of game two could potentially be heard, pending the time frame of the baseball games that will be aired earlier in the afternoon. If the softball games are still going when baseball concludes, the Tiger Sports Network will continue with bonus coverage. For score updates during softball play, listen to the baseball team's games against Dakota State University.