(Photos from Mary Hardin-Baylor and East Texas Baptist)
NCAA Division III Championship Tournament Central
BELTON, Texas – Mary Hardin-Baylor split two games on the second day of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Regional on Friday (May 19). UMHB (34-13) was defeated 2-1 by Berry in the first game of the afternoon. The Cru rebounded nicely with their second shutout win over St. Thomas in as many days, elimination the Celts 8-0 in six innings.
In the winner’s bracket, both teams traded runs, as Taylor Holman had a sacrifice fly out to knot the game at a run. The Vikings took the lead in the third and made it stand up, as they held the Cru to four hits.
In an elimination game with St. Thomas, the Cru claimed the lead with a run in the second inning and then posted runs in their final three turns to bat. A four-run fifth highlighted the frame with Bailey Eggleston having a two-run double as part of her 2-for-2 game. Blakely Niles also went 2-for-2 and drove in four runs.
Mary Hardin-Baylor will rematch with Berry at 12 p.m. CT on Saturday (May 20) and require two wins to claim the regional championship.
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MARSHALL, Texas – East Texas Baptist dropped two games of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Regional on Friday (May 19), with setbacks to Belhaven and Texas Lutheran.
The Tigers (39-7) battled Belhaven in the winner’s bracket to a 4-0 setback, allowing two runs in the third and sixth innings. ETBU left 10 runners on base and totaled five hits led by Tauryn Cummings with two.
In a must-win game, ETBU gave a late rally to Texas Lutheran that was a run short in a 4-3 decision. Down 4-0 after a pair of runs allowed in the first and third innings, the Tigers got a run on a Delanie Loya double. She was 2-for-3 with two RBI, as she had another two-bagger in the seventh. Corley Carpenter had the other RBI in that inning, but the Bulldogs secured the one-run victory to advance and play Belhaven on Saturday.
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