CLAREMORE, Okla. – After falling to No. 4-seed Minnesota State (48-12) in the first game of the day, No. 1-seed Rogers State softball (49-10) bounced back in a major way to knock out No. 8-seed Winona State (40-17) and advance to the NCAA Division II Central Regional Championship.
GAME 1 - MSU 3, RSU 0
In the winner's bracket game, the trend of hard-fought pitcher's duels continued with a shutout on both sides for the first four and a half innings.
The Mavericks finally broke through in the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead. A two RBI double to right center brought in the first two runs with a RBI single to short capping off the frame.
The Hillcats were held hitless through the first six innings and only managed to get three runs on base. RSU was unable to get any of the runners past first.
Mackenzie Ward (29-4) earned the complete game shutout win only allowing one hit and one walk with nine strikeouts. Andrea Morales (31-4) took the loss.
GAME 2 - RSU 10, WSU 3
The second game of the day didn't start much better for the Hillcats as Andrea Morales gave up a first pitch home run to open the game and give Winona State an early 1-0 lead. The Warriors then touched up Morales for two more runs in the second inning with another leadoff homer and a run scoring on a passed ball.
However, in the bottom of the third, RSU began to change the momentum as they pushed across their first run of the day to trim the lead to 3-1. During a failed pick off attempt, Rebecca Bell scored on a throwing error by the shortstop.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hillcats completed the comeback and took control as they put up three runs for a 4-3 lead. Bridgett Morales got the party started with a two-run blast to left field that scored Tailee Reding. Makayla Bowman followed it with a solo shot of her own to left field as well for back-to-back homers.
The RSU offense really came alive in the fifth as the Hillcats exploded for six runs to go up 10-3. Abbey Rogers got in on the home run fun with an absolute moonshot over the left field wall. Natalie Gonzalez and Elexis Watson scored on a fielding error by the second baseman. Jaylan Gibson scored on a wild pitch. Chelsea Spain joined the home run parade with a two-run blast to left that drove in Kimberli Presnell.
M'Kayla Hillman (15-6) earned the win working the final 5.0 innings only allowing one hit with four strikeouts. Liz Pautz (24-5) took the loss.
The Hillcats get the opportunity to avenge their first loss of the day as they now face off against No. 4-seed Minnesota State again, this time in the Regional Championship game tomorrow. First pitch is set for 11 a.m.
