Mustangs fall to Warriors in a nine-inning effort

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - After heavy rainfall in the area for the past 48 hours moved the site of the NAIA Opening Round of the National Softball Championships to Yukon High School and forced indoor practices, the Mount Mercy softball team took the field earlier today to begin the tournament. The third-seeded Mustangs squared off against the second-seeded Warriors of Midland (Neb.) in a nine-inning affair. Mount Mercy dropped the hard-fought, two hour and seven minute game, 2-1 at Yukon Field. 

Midland struck first, scoring a in the opening frame after a leadoff single. The Warrior's ace, Aliyah Rincon, was dialed in from the start, retiring the first six Mustangs she faced- five of which came via strikeout. Rylee Goodfellow recorded Mount Mercy's first hit to begin the third inning. Back-to-back sacrifice bunts from Jade Sharp and Abbey Smith, put Goodfellow in scoring position at third base. Natalie Tecklenburg's slow roller forced the Midland shortstop to rush her throw, allowing Goodfellow to score on the error. 

A one-two-three inning from Jayna Witzany in the bottom of the third, kept the momentum with Mount Mercy. Sam Lee followed in Goodfellow's footsteps with a leadoff single to right field in the fourth. Keily Ulatowski drew a walk, putting runners on first and second, but Mount Mercy could not capitlize. For the third straight inning, the Mustangs started the inning with a hit, this time off the bat of Jade Sharp, but she was also stranded on the bases. 

The Warriors threatened in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff hit of their own, but Witzany struck out two of the next three batters to send the game into extra innings. Tecklenburg and Makenna Moenk both singled, putting runners on first and second with nobody out in the eighth. Midland's defense buckled down and got out of the jam. Witzany proceeded to strikeout the side in the bottom of the eighth to extend the game. The Mustangs could not produce a baserunner in the ninth. With two outs, the Warriors were able to string together consecutive doubles to defeat the Mustangs in heartbreak fashion. 

Witzany (21-8) went 8-2/3 innings, scattering five hits on 12 strikeouts. Tecklenburg, Moenk, Lee, Goodfellow, and Sharp all registered a hit for Mount Mercy. Rincon (21-5) struck out 14 and walked just one in nine innings of work, and also went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored the Warriors' winning run. 

The remainder of the tournament will be played at the original site, Ann Lacy Field on the campus of Oklahoma City Univeristy. Mount Mercy (32-19) faces fourth-seed Texas A&M San Antonio (30-22) in an elimination game tomorrow at 4:00 pm. Should the Mustangs get the win, they will play again right away at 7:00 pm against the loser of top-seeded Oklahoma City and Midland.