Mustangs come up short in conference final
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Mount Mercy softball team cruised into the Heart of America Softball Championship final on Sunday and needed a win to claim their second-straight tournament title, but top-seeded and ninth-ranked Central Methodist wouldn't be denied, winning the opener, 3-1, and a winner-take-all game two, 2-1, at Busse Field.
Game one was a rematch of the semifinals a day earlier, featuring two of the conference's best in Jayna Witzany and Keighlan Cronin. Witzany picked up where she left off, striking out the side in the first inning. The Mustangs got singles in each of the first two frames, but couldn't manufacture a run early like they did on Saturday. After nine scoreless innings dating back to the semifinal, the Eagles finally got to Witzany, scoring two in the third for a 2-0 lead. Central Methodist added another run in the fifth on a solo shot to left increasing their lead to 3-0 and Cronin held the Mount Mercy offense in check.
The Mustangs threatened in the bottom of the fifth, however. Allie Poston hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Mikayla Fritz. Natalie Tecklenburg was hit by a pitch and two batters later, Jade Sharp recorded an infield single to load the bases, but Cronin forced a groundout to escape the threat. After a 1-2-3 inning by Witzany (23-4) in the seventh, Poston homered to lead off bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 3-1 and giving the Mustangs some life. With one out, Tecklenburg tripled off the wall in right center to bring the tying run to the plate, but Cronin retired the next two batters to end the game.
After seeing Witzany pitch every inning of the tournament, Mount Mercy gave the starting nod to Kalli Minger in game two and she proved she was ready for the moment. The Eagles went to Heart Freshman of the Year Mykala Johnico, who pitched a one-hitter the night before. The Mustangs wasted no time getting their first hit of the game thanks to a Rylee Goodfellow single in the opening frame. Central Methodist struck first again, however, scoring an unearned run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the second. The Eagles were able to double their lead in the fifth, going up 2-0 as Johnico settled in and didn't allow another Mount Mercy hit until the sixth inning.
Back-to-back singles from Sharp and Goodfellow began the Mount Mercy rally. With two outs, Keily Ulatowski singled up the middle to load the bases for the Mustangs' hottest hitter of the tournament. Poston was hit by a pitch plating Sharp and brining Mount Mercy within a run with the bases still loaded. With momentum starting to shift, Central Methodist (40-5) went back to their ace, Cronin, who forced a groundout to end the threat. Mount Mercy also went to Witzany after the Eagles got a leadoff single to start the sixth. Minger (11-12) pitched five phenomenal innings, allowing just one earned run of five hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks. Witzany surrendered a double, but set down the next three Eagles in order. Down to their final out, the Mustangs got Makenna Moenk into scoring position but Cronin forced a groundout to end the game and give Central Methodist a conference tournament championship to go along with their regular season title.
Poston paced the Mustangs in the tournament, hitting .333 with four hits, four runs scored, three walks, and three runs batted in. Sam Lee and Ulatowski each recorded five hits and Goodfellow four. Witzany threw over 400 pitches in 30 innings of work totaling 41 strikeouts, bringing her season total to 302, just three shy of the single-season record she set last year. Mount Mercy (35-19) will see if they've built a strong enough resume for an at-large bid to the NAIA Softball National Championship. The national tournament selection show will take place on Tuesday at 4:00 pm.