*Tournament Central
*Tournament Statistics
Shepherd 8, Urbana 0 | Final Stats
Shepherd eliminated Urbana, 8-0, in five innings at the MEC Softball Tournament. The Rams led by seven runs heading into the bottom of the fifth and pushed across the game-winning run with one out in the inning on an RBI from Paige Buckworth.
Kaitlyn Konopka went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI at the top of the order for the Rams. Alexandra Witt and Lori Sturgill each added a pair of RBI in the victory.
Tara Hanson went all five innings to earn the win in the circle for Shepherd. She gave up just three hits and struck out four.
Mykee Holtz, Courtney Stewart and Jenna VanHoose all had hits for Urbana. Courtney Allen took the loss giving up eight runs on eight hits.
Concord 2, Charleston 0 | Final Stats
Lauren Lewis hit an RBI single in the third and Alayna Furr scored on a throwing error in the fifth to give Concord a 2-0 win over Charleston in Saturday’s elimination game.
Sarah Herndon held the Golden Eagles to four hits in seven innings of work while striking out six batters. Alli Burdette took the loss after allowing two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. She struck out six in the setback.
Natalie Beck tallied two hits for Charleston. Shelby Ume and Alyssa Stanley both registered one hit apiece for the Golden Eagles. Lewis notched two hits for the Mountain Lions with Furr, Lindsey Stahl, Abby Beatty and Sarah Herndon all tallied base hit knocks in the victory.
Shepherd 3, Concord 2 | Final Stats
Late-game heroics allowed Shepherd to remain alive in the tournament. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Rachel Taylor laced a two-run double to left center to seal a 3-2 walk-off win for the Rams.
Abby Beatty laced an RBI single down the right field line in the top of the third to give Concord an early 1-0 jump. Alexandra Witt answered for the Rams in the home half of the frame to knot the score 1-1. The Mountain Lions answered with a run in the top of the fifth and maintained the lead until the final out of Shepherd’s final at-bat.
Lori Sturgill picked up the win on the mound. She allowed two runs off of six hits in six innings of work.
Debbie Stuart and Connor Gilligan both tallied two hits in the win for Shepherd. Jenna Witt had two hits for the Mountain Lions with Kylie Kent and Beatty each knocking in one RBI apiece.
West Virginia Wesleyan 2, UVa-Wise 0 | Final Stats
West Virginia Wesleyan came out on top of a pitchers’ duel to secure a spot in Sunday’s MEC Championship game. The Bobcats used two-run single by Jessica Rodriguez in the bottom of the sixth; which proved to be all they would need to secure the win.
Hannah Vet held the Cavaliers to five hits in seven innings of work. Taylor Brandts took the loss on the mound. She surrendered two earned runs off of four hits while striking out five batters.
UVa-Wise 3, Shepherd 1 | Final Stats
Uva-Wise clinched a spot in Sunday’s MEC Championship game with a 3-1 win over Shepherd.
Samantha Ely put the Cavaliers on the board with an RBI single in the first. Zoe Millard’s single down the left field line in the second and Nikki Smith’s base hit knock to center in the third gave UVa-Wise all they would need to earn the win.
The Rams mustered one run in the bottom of the sixth behind a Lori Sturgill single, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit.
Emily Kale held the Rams off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest. She surrendered seven hits in the shutout win. Tara Hanson took the loss on the mound for Shepherd.
Sturgill paced the Rams with three hits while Witt added two in the loss. Millard and Ely both tallied two hits for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers will take on West Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the James I. Moyer Complex. The Bobcats enter the game with a 3-0 record in the tournament, and will need just one win to clinch the MEC Championship title.