COLUMBIA, Ky. - One pitch was all
Natalie Wandrie needed.
Scoreless game. Bottom of the eighth inning.
Kayden Murray dealing from the circle. It seemed destined to happen as Wandrie stared down a change up and won Lindsey Wilson its ninth Mid-South Conference tournament title on a solo home run to center field.
The junior's run was the only run necessary for the Blue Raiders to claim the championship, capping a perfect tournament for the host and clinching the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament.
Cumberlands led off the game with a single, but that point forward the Patriots were held to only two more base runners, including one additional hit allowed by Murray. The conference's Pitcher of the Year retired six on strikes and did not surrender a walk for the second consecutive game. Murray closed the tournament with three wins, a 2.63 earned run average, and 20 strikeouts.
Lindsey Wilson's offense was led by Wandrie and
Sam Hartman with two hits, apiece.
Nora Epley,
Emerson McKinnis,
Summer Ray, and
Atavya Fowler each contributed one hit.
Prior to Wandrie's moment in the eighth inning, the Blue Raiders gave themselves an opportunity to win the game in the seventh. Back-to-back singles by Fowler and Epley generated buzz around the park. Cumberlands, however, escaped the inning unscathed to force extra innings.
Murray clocked the first of the eighth frame on strikes, then induced a flyout to Wandrie in left field and a popout to Epley to set up the finish.
With a ticket punched to the NAIA National Tournament, and a host site already locked down, the Blue Raiders will await the announcement of the official tournament field at 5 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 6.
