DECATUR, Ala. -- Junior third baseman Jessica Magnuson came through late, driving in the tying and game-winning runs, to lead Mount Mercy to a 5-4, 10-inning victory over Union (Ky.) in the final game of pool play at the 2010 NAIA Softball National Championship on Monday at Wilson Morgan Park.
The Mustangs (37-11) got off to a good start, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by sophomore second baseman Rosie Jones and sacrifice fly by senior right fielder Emily Madsen. They added a run in the third when freshman left fielder Stephanie Russell scored on Madsen's base hit.
Mount Mercy saw that three-run lead disappear quickly when Union catcher Bethany Outland hit a bases-loaded triple, then scored on a sacrifice fly by first baseman Jessie Dunning to put the Bulldogs (20-19) in front, 4-3.
The Mustangs left a runner on base in the fifth and sixth before Magnuson led off the seventh with her eighth home run of the season to knot the score at 4-4. Mount Mercy stranded a pair of base runners in the ninth, but sophomore right-hander Becca Smith set the Bulldogs down in order in the top half of the 10th to set the stage for Magnuson.
Madsen was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 10th. After senior shortstop Brianna Williams and sophomore first baseman Liz Hill popped out, sophomore catcher Briana DeFlavio singled to center field. Magnuson followed with her own base hit to center, scoring Madsen with the game-winner.
Magnuson, Madsen, and Russell each finished with two hits. Smith went the distance for the Mustangs and improved to 27-5 in the circle. She allowed four earned runs on nine hits while striking out 12 and walking none. Smith, Mount Mercy's single-season and career record holder, finishes the season just two strikeouts shy of 300.
The Mustangs were 1-2 in pool play at the national tournament and finish the year with an overall record of 37-11, which included a 19-2 mark in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Mount Mercy won the regular season and conference tournament titles for the first time since 1992 and made their first national tournament appearance since 1990.
