No. 6 Seed Ladies Defeat No. 5 Seed McMurry In SCAC Championship Elimination Game
The No. 6 seed Centenary softball team kept its season alive with an impressive 6-1 victory over the No. 5 seed McMurry University War Hawks in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon in the 2025 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at Roberts Family Field on the campus of Concordia University.
Austin, Texas – The No. 6 seed Centenary softball team kept its season alive with an impressive 6-1 victory over the No. 5 seed McMurry University War Hawks in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon in the 2025 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at Roberts Family Field on the campus of Concordia University.
The Ladies (20-21) rebounded from a 6-2 loss to the No. 3 seed Trinity University Tigers on Friday and will have a rematch with the Tigers on Sunday at 10 a.m. and the game will be played at Taylor-Sanders Field on the campus of Southwestern University. Trinity eliminated Concordia by a score of 12-6 on Saturday afternoon.
Championship Central: https://www.scacsports.com/tournament/spring/softball/25championships/index
Centenary banged out 13 hits to notch its 10th game this season with 10+ hits and have now finished with 13 hits in a game four times this season - three of those coming against McMurry. The Ladies were one shy of matching their season-high of 14 recorded in an 8-2 win at Ozarks on Feb. 28.
Senior LHP Emma Shepherd (Athens, La.) started in the circle for the second day in a row and pitched a complete game to even her record at 9-9 and tossed her eighth complete game this season. Shepherd, who was named to the All-SCAC Team on Friday as an Honorable-Mention selection, allowed just one earned run and three hits in her seven innings of work with three walks and five strikeouts. She faced 28 batters and threw 92 pitches with 60 for strikes.
Mackenzie McClellan (3-3) started and took the loss for McMurry as she allowed five runs (all earned) and four hits in 2.2 IP with one BB and no K's. She faced 15 batters, hitting one, and threw 55 pitches (35 strikes). Baylee Fulps relieved her and pitched the final 4.1 innings and allowed nine hits but just one earned run with one BB and four K's. She faced 22 batters, threw one wild pitch, and finished with 73 pitches – 44 for strikes.
McMurry got on the board first as LF Aliyah Tanguma delivered a sacrifice fly to score C Maya Mongelli to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning. DP Reaghan Staehely singled to open the inning and Mongelli followed with a bunt single to put runners at first and second with no outs.
RF Tristyn Barton then reached on a fielder's choice but junior LF Laine Sullivan (Prairieville, La.) threw to senior C Abby Touchet (Shreveport, La.) to cut down Staehely at the plate as Mongelli advanced to third on the throw and Barton went to second. Tanguma then followed with her two-out sac fly but Shepherd struck out SS Samantha Gonzales to end the inning.
The Ladies answered immediately with a big third inning, scoring five runs and all five coming with two outs. Junior RF Emma Crow (Krotz Springs, La.) flew out to begin the inning and sophomore CF Noelle Sandmann (Huntsville, Texas) laid down a perfect bunt that dribbled down the third base line and stopped just short of the chalk and by the time 3B Elaina Herrera arrived, the speedy Sandmann was already across the bag.
Freshman SS Kaitlynn Alello (Denham Springs, La.) was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. Senior 3B Viviana Rivero (Redondo Beach, Calif.) flew out to center for the second out and it appeared as McClellan might escape the jam. Touchet then stepped to the plate and ripped a single up the middle to score Sandmann to tie the game as Allelo raced to third and Touchet went to second on the throw. Junior 2B Catherine Stokes (Natchitoches, La.) then drew a walk after an impressive and patient at-bat to load the bases.
Sullivan then delivered arguably the Ladies' biggest at-bat to date as she worked a full count and then came through with a ringing triple to center to clear the bases and give the Ladies a 4-1 lead. Fulps then came in for McClellan and sophomore DP Taylor Good (Flower Mound, Texas) greeted her with an RBI single to score Sullivan for a 5-1 lead.
Shepherd walked Herrera to begin the bottom of the third and CF Mercedes Camacho reached in on an error by Rivero to put runners at first and second with no outs. Shepherd, however, was not bothered as she retired the next three War Hawks in order to escape the mini-jam.
The Ladies added a final insurance run in the top of the seventh Crow came through with a clutch, two-out RBI single to score pinch-runner Brooke Sandefur (Denham Springs, La.) to make it 6-1.
Sheperd retired nine in a row until walking Mongelli to begin the bottom of the seventh as she set the War Hawks down in order from the fourth through the sixth innings. Barton singled after the walk to Mongelli but Shepherd retired Tanguma on a fly out for the first out of the inning and then struck out pinch-hitter Sabrina Graf for the second out. She then closed out her impressive CG by getting Herrera on a routine fly ball to Sullivan in left. Shepherd was on her game and frustrated McMurry all afternoon, silencing them for four innings in a row and after allowing consecutive hits to start the second inning, she did not allow another hit until Barton's hit in the seventh.
Five Ladies posted multi-hit games, led by Sandmann with three. Good, Touchet, Crow, and junior 1B Abigail Hodgson (Florence, Texas) each had two Stokes and Sullivan each had one. Rivero and Stokes each drew a BB, six Ladies scored a run, and Sullivan led the way in the RBI category with three followed by one each from Crow, Good, and Touchet.
Remaining Championship Schedule:
Sunday, May 4, 2025 – Games Played at Southwestern University
Game 8 - 10:00 a.m. - Centenary vs. Trinity (elimination game)
Game 9 - 12:30 p.m. - Texas Lutheran vs. Winner of Game 8 (elimination game)
*Game 10 - 3:00 p.m. - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 9
*If winner of Game 8 is also the winner of Game 9, then Game 10 will be played on Monday. If Game 10 is moved to Monday, it will start at 10:00 a.m., with the 'if necessary' game following at 12:30 p.m.
Monday, May 5, 2025
Game 11 - 11:00 a.m. - if necessary
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/sball/2024-25/schedule
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