Updated Championship Bracket (JPG)
FINDLAY, Ohio – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Championship bracket started with eight teams and is just down to the final two, No. 6 Ohio Dominican and No. 1 Trevecca Nazarene, following Friday’s action at Marathon Diamonds.
Six teams had their championship dreams alive, but elimination games throughout the day saw some of the playoff qualifiers eliminated.
No. 7 Ursuline was officially dropped from the bracket following an 8-2 defeat vs. the conference regular season champion Trojans, who suffered a Day 1 loss to No. 8 Cedarville.
TNU also bested No. 2 seed Hillsdale in an elimination game after the Chargers had knocked out Cedarville earlier in the day. The Trojans won by a score of 5-3 and then handed No. 4 seed Tiffin its final blow with a 10-6 victory after the Dragons fell in the championship portion to ODU.
Trevecca won three straight games on Friday, roaring back through the bracket, but still would need to hand Ohio Dominican two straight losses since the Panthers have gone 3-0 in the double-elimination style format.
The Trojans played small ball against the Arrows while executing a number of successful bunts. Megan Groves was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI while Brooke Eakes keyed a five-run fifth inning with a two-run single to left.
TNU played from behind a 3-0 deficit to come back and take down Hillsdale. All of the Trojans’ runs came in the fifth inning as MaKray Odom laced a two-run double, Lenna Robinson had the game tying-hit and Carly Sperlich ripped another double, the eventual go-ahead and game winning RBI’s.
All three of those Trojans are first team all-conference selections as voted by the league’s coaches.
The Panthers have to be feeling awfully good about their position after toppling No. 3 Malone, No. 7 Ursuline and No. 4 Tiffin, in their present tournament run. ODU is also strengthening its hopes in the Midwest Region rankings, hoping for the AQ, but making its case for an at-large selection as a backup option.
First team all-conference first baseman Carson Hackerd dealt a major blow in the second inning by clearing the bases with a three-run double. After the Dragons stormed back to within a 4-3 game in the fifth inning following an RBI single by Taylor Whalen, ODU freshman SS Alexis Stevens capped a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with a game winning infield hit in the top of the seventh inning.
All-conference pitcher Sydney Long turned in another masterful playoff outing with a complete game and five strikeouts. She gave up just one earned run and scattered seven hits while walking two.
Thirteen games have been completed and the 14th, possibly the championship game, could be decided on Saturday at 10 AM ET. The if necessary game would follow approximately around noon ET on Anderson Field. All games are being streamed by Findlay production staff on the Great Midwest Digital Network.