WEST CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Though several players admitted to being "all cried out" following a tough season-ending loss on Friday, the sadness came after the Midway softball team had played the role of gritty spoiler to near perfection over a 15-inning stretch.
Makayla McDowell had her second, two-run complete game in a row to help the Eagles eliminate two-time defending tournament champion St. Mary of the Woods (Ind.) 3-2 in the first game.
The Eagles then came back from an early 3-0 deficit to force extra innings, only for Shawnee State (Ohio) to bring home the winning run in the eighth inning, eliminating Midway from the double-elimination tournament in a 4-3 final.
GAME ONE
Fresh off a three-RBI game in a 4-2 win over Ohio Christian Thursday, Ryann Berger was the offensive star again against the Pomeroys. Berger went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in all three Midway runs, the first on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, the second and third on a two-run single in the third.
That paved the way for another great effort by McDowell and the Eagle defense, with the junior pitcher holding St. Mary of the Woods hitless until the fourth inning.
Once the Pomeroys got going, it looked as if they were going to run away with things, as the first four batters reached in the fourth inning, with the Eagle lead being cut to 3-2 following RBIs by Ruby Gray and Jaleigh Crawford.
With runners on second and third and no one out, Kennadi Thompson made a great play at third base, going to her knees on a ground ball and throwing home to get Gray out.
That then gave way to a bizarre sequence that allowed Midway to maintain momentum and, most importantly, the lead.
With runners still on second and third with one out, the Pomeroys had Maddie Smith attempt a squeeze bunt only to have the ball land on the third-base side. Unable to make it home, Emily Singleton was able to get back to third base ahead of the throw of catcher Sawyer Snodgrass.
But unaware Nevaeh Pender was still standing on the base, Smith tried to go to second and got herself in a rundown, in which she was tagged out at first base. McDowell then got out of the jam for good by forcing a Jasmine Kinzer flyout.
McDowell allowed just four hits while finishing with three strikeouts. This came a day after she didn't allow a run over the final six innings of a complete-game win against Ohio Christian.
GAME TWO
After Midway had just two hits in a 7-1 loss to the RSC East's top-seeded Bears in the opening round Thursday, it looked like more of the same early, as Shawnee State jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings.
But after relief pitcher Alexia Hoskins settled things down on the defensive end, the Midway offense got things going in the fifth and eventually forced a tie. Three batters after Kyra McCall put Midway on the board with an RBI double, fellow senior Katie Rhodes tied the game with a two-run double she sailed over the head of left fielder Brittani Wolfenbaker.
Though the Bears finished the game with 16 hits, the Midway defense made them earn every one and denied them critical scoring chances in the fifth and sixth.
With runners on first and third with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, second baseman Tenley Gilbert robbed Cameryn Davidson on a single, running down a grounder over second base and flipping the ball directly from her glove to shortstop Rhodes for the force out.
Then in the sixth, with a runner on third and two outs, Jenna Christopher singled sharply to third, but Kennadi Thompson knocked the ball down to keep the ball in the infield and the runner at third, which set up Hoskins to force an inning-ending groundout.
It would be the Eagles who had a chance to pull ahead in the eighth inning. Rhodes had her third hit, then following an error, Payton Baum singled to centerfield, but the ball stayed in the air too long, forcing Rhodes to hesitate and be held at third with one out. Amariah Hoerner then retired the next two batters in what would prove to be Midway's final at-bat of 2024.
Hoerner and Wolfenbarker opened the bottom of the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third. Next batter Christopher grounded out to Thompson, who attempted to keep Hoerner at third, but the runner got enough of a break on the throw to first, and she was able to slide in before Baum's relay throw, sending Shawnee State to the final round, where it will face in-state foe Rio Grande on Saturday.
Midway concludes the 2024 season with a record of 20-26.
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