Lions come back, advance to winner’s side of Central Region

Carsen Tinkler started the rally, Maddie Rolfs tied the game and Avery Sue Davis doubled off the center field fence to put No. 1 Missouri Southern State University on top for good in the bottom of the fifth inning in the NCAA Division II Central Region opener against No. 8 Augustana University at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex.

The Lions (49-7) took a 6-5 lead on Davis’ double and went on to win by that score. The Vikings (30-27) fell despite a rally of their own in the fifth. They chased MSSU reliever Emily Davis out of the game by bringing the score to a 4-4 tie and then took the lead on an infield single off of Kiki Pickens, who started the game and reentered for Davis in the fifth.

Southern didn’t crack under the late pressure.

“I think it might have been different had we not been in those situations in the regular season, then it might have been a little more nerve-wracking,” MSSU head coach Hallie Blackney said. “We know how to fight. We talk about throwing punches. We might get punched but we’re gonna punch back.”

Punch back they did.

Tinkler doubled with one out in the inning. Emily Perry singled on a hard ground ball between the third baseman and shortstop of Augustana to put runners on the corners with one out. Perry later stole second base.

Rolfs came up in a potential RBI situation and delivered with a long fly ball just shy of the warning track in center field that scored Tinkler from third to tie the game. The very next batter, Avery Sue Davis, drilled a pitch off the fence in center that scored Perry to give the Lions the lead.

Early innings

Augustana fell behind early as its defense struggled with four errors in the first three innings that led to MSSU scoring four runs — three unearned. The Lions took a 4-1 lead into the fifth frame behind a two-run double from Perry in the first inning. But two errors in that first frame led to Perry even coming to the plate in the first.

The Vikings’ freshman pitcher Teya Speltz was able to limit damage despite the miscues and took advantage of an offensive opportunity in the top of the fifth.

“Teya’s really starting to come along. … We’ve had to ride her and for a little freshman to have a lot of pressure on her … I think that says a lot about her,” Augustana head coach Gretta Melsted said. “I was really proud of her performance. Missouri Southern’s just a really good hitting team. They’re really solid all around.”

Speltz dug into the batter’s box with two outs and delivered a no-doubt, three-run home run over the fence in left field off of Davis to tie the score at 4. The rally continued for Augustana as it scratched across its fifth run of the game and fourth in the inning on a hard-hit ball to Tinkler at third base that she was unable to field cleanly, and the carom off her body and into foul territory in front of her scored a run from third base.

Melsted noted she was happy with her team’s hitting against two “really good” pitchers. The Vikings had 10 hits to the Lions’ nine in the game. But she added that her defense needed to be better.

Southern’s Pickens was able to hold the Vikings in check in the sixth and seventh to seal the first-round win.

Early in the game, the Vikings were able to lift the ball against Pickens who is normally a groundball pitcher. But six of the first seven outs of the game were in the air and five of those were in the outfield.

“Kiki and ED (Emily Davis) they weren’t at their best today, and they would tell you the same thing. We’ve gotta fine tune that. We have to settle in a little bit quicker,” Blackney said. “I have full confidence we show up tomorrow and we’re back to Southern softball and playing the way that we should be.

“It speaks to Augie’s preparation. They’re well-coached. They were purposely getting under the ball and we noticed that, which is why we went to ED.”

The first out of the game was a tough catch by Rolfs, who tracked back, jumped up and snagged the ball but lost it out of the top of her glove. On the ball’s way down to the grass, she dove and made a basket catch.

In the third, she dove for a ball that was tagged deep into center, and she caught this ball cleanly and landed in the warning track and slid into the fence while keeping ahold of the ball. Perry also made a diving grab in right field in the second inning.

“We just have so much confidence. We know our pitchers are going to do their jobs, so we make sure that we have their backs and do our jobs,” MSSU left fielder Bailey Dillon said.

“Our outfield plays really big. And we’ve got kids out there that take great angles on balls and they have a lot of speed. What people don’t notice is the communication they have out there,” Blackney added.

MSSU moves into the second round and will face the winner of No. 4 Southern Arkansas University and No. 5 St. Cloud State University at 2 p.m. Friday at MSSU. Results for that game were not available at press time. Augustana will look to fight back at 4:30 p.m. Friday against the loser of Southern Arkansas and St. Cloud.

“Augustana might have the most postseason pedigree out of any program in the nation, and they proved that today. They showed up and just played Augie softball. They’re fearless and they know how to compete,” Blackney said.

MSSU will seek win No. 50 on the season and a spot in the regional final with a win Friday. A 50th win would make it the third team in program history to accomplish that feat.