COLUMBUS, Ga. – Lindsey Wilson, Auburn Montgomery, LSU-Alexandria and Central Methodist advanced to the Gold Bracket semifinals on day two of the NFCA NAIA Leadoff Classic. The three-day tournament is being contested at South Commons Softball Complex.
The second seeded Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders (8-0) will face off against the six-seeded LSU-A Generals (9-2), while the AUM Warhawks (6-1) will take on the CMU Eagles (3-1) at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
The Blue Raiders and the Warhawks remain undefeated after the first two days. Lindsey Wilson, which finished as the second seed, edged Central Methodist 3-2 in eight innings to earn the two spot and then advanced with a 9-2 triumph over Reinhardt (6-6).
AUM, in the most exciting game of the day, rallied from a 9-5 deficit, thanks to a walk-off grand slam by Kayla Hale to lift the Warhawks to a 12-9 win over LSU-A and finish atop their pool. The third seed, Auburn Montgomery, used a pair of two-run home runs by Jade Sasser and Hale to top the six-seed Ave Maria (7-11), 5-2.
The Generals fell behind 1-0 in the fifth, but used three-run long balls by Taylor Simon and Kelsey Hollier in the top of the sixth powered LSU-A to the 6-1 victory. The Eagles methodically put together a 7-2 lead over Thomas with two of those runs coming on Jessica Wilmes’ two-run round tripper. However, Thomas’ Kelsey Connolly made it interesting with a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. The Night Hawks had the tying run on second, but Ashley Litton punched out the final batter to preserve the win and earn the save.
Thomas, Lindsey Wilson and Auburn Montgomery finished pool play undefeated and were the top three seeds, while UCSB and Ave Maria also won their respective pools. LSU Alexandria, Central Methodist and Reinhardt rounded out the Gold Bracket.
In Silver Bracket play, Campbellsville (5-2), Belhaven (8-4), Park (2-2) and William Carey advanced to the semifinal round, while Georgia Gwinnett and Oklahoma Baptist posted 5-3 and 9-8 (8) over Friends and Bellevue in the Copper Bracket semifinals. The Tigers and Crusaders will face off in one Silver semifinal and Park and Belhaven in the other.
The Tigers used the solid pitching of Neely Quint (CG, 2 R, 2K) and the bat of Rebecca Miller (2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, Run) to top Williams Woods, 4-2. Campbellsville held a 4-0 lead going into the seventh, but Saydnae Hatton made it interesting with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, but Miller was able to settle down and record the final two outs for the win.
Belhaven jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and cruised to a 8-0 win in sixth innings over Corban. Park fell behind 7-0 against Olivet Nazarene, but scored 11 unanswered runs for a 11-7 triumph in eight innings. The Pirates scored three in the fifth and sent it to extras with four in the top of the seventh, three courtesy of Lindsey Derry’s game-tying three-run double. They would continue the momentum with a four-run eighth for the comeback win.
Lindenwood-Belleville and William Carey battled in a back-and-forth contest with the Crusaders getting a one-out walk-off single by Kimberly Gilbert to edge the Lynx, 5-4 in the final contest of the evening.
The tournament concludes on Sunday with first games beginning at 9:00 a.m. and last games at 1:00 p.m.
For links to teams, scores, updates and other pertinent information check out our Tournament Central page.
