SEARCY, Ark. --- A late sixth and seventh inning comeback propelled the #6 Minnesota State softball team past #2 Harding, 7-6, in game three of the NCAA Central Super Regionals Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Minnesota State (59-7) advances to the NCAA Championships in Salem, Va., for the first time since 2011. This will be the Mavericks third appearance with the first coming in 1987. Minnesota State will be the second seed and face seventh-seeded Southern Indiana on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. (CST) With the Loss, Harding finishes the season 58-9 overall.
Senior pitcher
Coley Ries(36-3) tossed eight strikeouts in a complete game to pass
Carri Tschida (1986-89) and move into first all-time for wins in a season. Freshman Autumn Humes (33-3) picks up the loss with six strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.
The Mavericks quickly loaded up the bases in the top of the first to steal the momentum and a 3-0 advantage. Senior
Samantha Buhmann connected on a hit allowing sophomore
McKenzie Paap to slide into home for the game's first run after a muffed throw by the catcher. Minnesota State added two more runs in the inning with scores from freshman
Amber Kral and junior
Jess Meidl.
Harding battled back with a four run bottom half of the inning as rain began to fall at the Harding softball field. Sophomore Alexus Lawellin and Freshman Autumn Humes before Trump hit a two run single to center field to steal the lead, 4-3. Rain and lighting then moved in delaying play for two hours until tournament officials decided to postpone play to Sunday.
On Sunday, the Mavericks loaded the bases in the top third after hits from freshman
Carly Esselman, sophomore
Cori Kennedy, and Kral. However, MSU would not be able to cash in on the opportunity and went on to strand all three later in the stanza. The Bisons responded in the bottom half getting runners on base as senior Amanda Berdon grounded out to Ries sending Humes across increase their edge to 5-3.
In the top of the fourth, senior
Ashley Thell delivered a deep shot to right field only to be tagged out at third to end the inning. Later in the fifth inning, Minnesota State loaded up the bases for the second time in the game only to leave the trio of Mavericks stranded.
Harding stretched their lead in the fifth as freshman Briley Feringa got a single to drop in right center sending a run across to make the score 6-3. Minnesota State started to chip into the deficit as Kral blasted a single to center score Paap and pull within two runs, 6-4, in the sixth frame. MSU added its second run of the frame as Esselman hit a shot to center for an RBI to pull the Mavericks within one, 6-5.
The Mavericks comeback continued in the seventh inning as Thell stepped to the plate with two outs on the scoreboard and blasted clutch single up the middle to send junior
Alyssa Rickels across for the game-winning run to make the score 7-6. The Maverick defense then went on to hold strong and preserve the 7-6 come from behind win.
Minnesota State totaled 15 hits as a team while Harding notched nine hits. Paap and Esselman set the pace with a game-best three hits each. Thell and Kral also reached multiple hits with two each to round out the top performers.
