Alice Lloyd softball concludes season by dropping heartbreaker in Mideast Regional Tournament Championship, set school record for wins

Pippa Passes, KY: The Alice Lloyd College Lady Eagles returned home on April 6^th and 7^th to participate in the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament. The squad would face both the Kentucky Christian Knights and Oakland City Oaks in the double elimination tournament with a berth in the NCCAA World Series on the line. The Caney Creek crew fought with valor until the final out, but would drop a pair of crushing games to the eventual champion Oaks.

Game 1

Alice Lloyd-6:  KCU-5

The Pippa Passes posse (27-14) took the early lead against the Knights (19-28), then broke a tie in their final at-bat to take the opener.

The Lady Eagles stuck first, getting a RBI single from Carlee Muncy (1B) in the second to take a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Muncy duplicated the feat to make it 2-0.  Audrey Mowell (2B) then smacked a single of her own to plate Muncy (3-0). Next, Rachel Rife (LF) teed off on a pitch and lined it over the left field wall. Suddenly, the scoreboard read 5-0, and the hosts appeared to be in great shape.

However, KCU would respond by  gaining a pair of runs on a single in the fifth (5-2). Then, in the seventh, they came up big, using a single and double to score two (5-4). Then with two outs, the next batter, laced a single in the gap to tie the score at 5-5.

In the bottom of the seventh, Alice Lloyd saw Arin Rife (DP) and Ellie Keene (C)  both single, then advance to second and third on a pop-up .Now, just needing a hit to win, the Lady Eagles received a gift when a KCU error on a squeeze play allowed the runner to sprint home from third, and chalk up a thrilling victory for the hometown crew. 

At the plate, ALC saw, Muncy, A.Rife, Keene, Mowell, and Maleigh McDaniel (P) all produce 2 hits while  (C)  while Muncy and R. Rife delivered 3 and 2 RBI's.

On the mound, McDaniel went 6.1 innings to take the nice win, allowing 5 unearned runs on 8 hits with 2 strikeouts. 

The Eagles led in hits (11-9) and committed one less error, 2-1.

Game 2

Alice Lloyd-0:  OCU-1

The Pippa Passes posse (27-15)  fell to Oakland City (30-16) in a tough pitcher's duel.

Both hurlers were on their game as each club managed to place only 4 total runners on base through five innings. However, no one could score. Finally, in the top of the sixth, OCU broke through.

In that at-bat,  the leadoff batter walked, and two outs later, advanced to third. Finally, a groundball got through the gap, and the Oaks led, 1-0.

Unfortunately, in their final two attempts, the hosts went down in order to drop the nail biter.

At the plate, ALC saw Mckenzie Orfield (3B) smack a double and Chloe Taylor (2B) gain a single. However, these were the only hits the Caney Creek crew would manage on the day.

On the mound, A. Rife deserved better as she suffered the tough loss. She allowed only 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 5.

The Oaks led in hits (3-2) and committed the only error.

Game 3

ALC-7; KCU-4

The Lady Eagles (28-15) roared back from a 4-0 deficit to pull ahead and seal the big win.

KCU started wonderfully, using an ALC error, a single, and big home run to produce massively in their first at-bat. When the third out was registered, the Knights (19-29) led 4-0.

The Pippa Passes posse would earn a run back in the bottom of the inning off a sacrifice fly (4-1). They then used another sacrifice fly and stolen base to plate a pair of scores in the second, and now trail 4-3. In the fourth, with two runners on base, R. Rife stroked a single to bring both teammates home, and give her club a 5-4 advantage.

Finally, in the fifth Morris delivered an important run on a single (6-4). Then, Muncy's sacrifice pushed the Eagle cushion to three runs, 7-4. From there, the home crew would make the lead stand until the final out was recorded, as KCU would go down to defeat.

At the plate for the victors, Keene led the way with 2 hits, while R. Rife and Muncy each drove in 2 RBI's.

On the mound, McDaniel was impressive for the Caney Creek crew, coming in to relieve A. Rife after only three batters. In her seven innings of work, she only gave up 4 hits and 1 run with 3 strike outs.

 ALC led in hits, 7-3, which enabled them to overcome a 3-1 disadvantage in errors.

Game 4

ALC-0; OCU-1

Despite an impressive pitching performance from Kirsten Vice, the Lady Eagles dropped an absolute heartbreaker in ten innings to hand Oakland City the Regional Championship.

The Eastern Kentucky ladies would place runners on base in several innings, and even have the bases loaded with nobody out in the fifth. Unfortunately, they could not get the vital hit when they had to have it. 

Thankfully, Vice was on top of her game as she kept the Lady Oaks at bay, refusing to give any runs. After seven innings, the match was still scoreless.

The next two innings were the same as neither squad could mark the scoreboard. Finally, in the top of the tenth, Oakland City (31-16) placed a runner on first, eventually advanced her to third, and brought her home on a ground out. The Indiana squad now led 1-0.

In the bottom of the tenth, ALC (28-16) saw R. Rife single to reach base with one out. With the winning run at the plate, the next two batters would hit the ball hard, but it dropped into a Lady Oak glove to send the championship banner to the Hoosier state..

At the plate for the victors, Muncy and Mckenzie Orfield (3B) each produced a pair of hits.

On the mound, Vice was a rock for the Caney Creek crew, allowing just 6 hits and 1 run in 10 hard-fought innings. She struck out 4 Oaks and only walked 3.

The closeness further shows as the evenly matched teams tied in hits, 6-6, and errors, 1-1.

The Lady Eagles conclude their fantastic season earning a school-record 28 games. The squad hopes to build on this success and make another run next year.