Picture courtesy of David Ediger, Tabor SID
GREAT BEND, Kan. – The Ottawa University softball team had a marathon day on Saturday, trying to qualify for the KCAC Softball Tournament championship game. The Braves fell one game short of that goal. Ottawa defeated Tabor College 4-3 in game one and Avila University 7-4 in game two before falling 3-1 to Friends University in their third game of the day.
Tabor College
Tabor struck first, taking a 1-0 lead over the Braves in the bottom of the third inning. Ottawa answered in the top of the fourth. Kelcie KIppes doubled to left.
Jillian Kygar moved her to third with a ground out to first. Aliks scored Kippes with a single to center and the game was tied 1-1.
The Bluejays retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with two runs, 3-1. The Braves responded with three runs in the top of the sixth to take their first lead of the game.
Hannah Copeland walked and
Emily Kvasnicka entered as a pinch runner for Copeland. Kippes connected on a two run shot, tying the game at 3-3.
Kygar followed that with a single to left and
Macey Morris came in as a pinch runner for the OU catcher. Serna sacrificed Morris over to second.
Cierra Faubion then put the ball in play, grounding out to the short stop. Morris moved to third but then took advantage of a miscue by the Bluejay first baseman and scored to give the Braves a 4-3 lead.
The OU defense held Tabor scoreless in its final two at bats and Ottawa took the 4-3 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Kelcie Kippes went 2-for-3 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in two.
- Casson Rasmussen pitched the complete game victory, striking out two.
Avila University
The Eagles took the 1-0 lead over the Braves in the bottom of the first inning. Ottawa tied the game in the top of the second.
Madison Bunfill hit a home run over the center field fence and the game was tied, 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, Avila retook the lead with two runs, 3-1. The Braves were able to cut into the Avila lead in the top of the third. With the bases loaded,
Hannah Copeland hit a sacrifice fly, scoring
Riley Newbold to put OU within 3-2.
AU pushed one more run across home plate in the bottom of the third, extending its lead to 4-2. Ottawa did not go away and rallied to take its first lead of the game in the top of the fourth.
With runners on the corners,
Justyse Rodriguez hit a double down the left field line, scoring Kygar to put OU within a run, 4-3. Bunfill followed that with a single to left, scoring two and OU had a 5-4 lead.
In the top of the sixth, Ottawa extended its lead over Avila. Faubion led the inning with a double to right. A bunt single by Newbold moved Faubion to third. Faubion then took advantage of a throwing error by the Eagle third baseman and OU was up 6-4.
The Braves pushed one more insurance run across home plate in the top of the seventh.
Aliks Serna scored one with a single to right-center to give OU the lead and the game, 7-4.
Inside the Box Score
Friends University
The game stayed tied until bottom of the sixth inning.
Justyse Rodriguez singled to center.
Allison Kearney then sacrificed her over to second with a bunt. Rodriguez moved to third with a fly out by
Madison Bunfill. Rodriguez was able to score from third on an error by the Falcon shortstop and OU led 1-0.
In the top of the seventh, Friends took advantage of two errors by the Braves and scored three runs to take a 3-1 lead over OU. Ottawa was not able to rally in the bottom of the seventh, falling 3-1 to the Falcons.
Inside the Box Score
Who is Next
Ottawa (35-13-1) will now wait to see where they will play in the NAIA Opening Round. The selection show is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10 at 4:00 p.m. (cst). You can watch it by clicking on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/PlayNAIA.
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