MIDWAY, Ky. - Midway softball concluded the home portion of its 2026 schedule with a pair of losses to River States Conference leader Oakland City on Tuesday.
The Eagles extended the first game on a two-run, seventh-inning
Randi Delong home run before losing 8-5 in eight innings. The Mighty Oaks then exploded for six, sixth-inning runs to win the second game 7-2.
GAME ONE: OAKLAND CITY 8, MIDWAY 5 (8 INNINGS)
Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles got within two on an
Ella Baum RBI single which set up Delong for more late-game heroics, as she skied a two-run, game-tying home run to left field with two outs.
This marked the sixth time this season Delong had either a game-tying or go-ahead RBI in the sixth inning or later. It was also the third time she's hit a game-tying or game-winning home run in the seventh inning.
It wouldn't be enough, though, as Hannah Wissel led off the eighth with a double then came home to score on an error. Grace Butcher then ended the scoring with a two-run single to centerfield, as Midway fell to 0-6 in extra-innings this season.
Delong and
Payton Baum both had a game-high two hits for the Eagles with Baum also recording an RBI on a sixth-inning single.
GAME TWO: OAKLAND CITY 7, MIDWAY 2
Delong had yet another massive two-run home run to start the scoring in the third inning. The sophomore now has an RSC-best 13 homers, which is tied for the seventh most in the NAIA.
The 2-0 lead would stretch until the sixth inning, when OCU, which batted around in a five-run fourth inning in game one, did it again by scoring six time on six hits. Megan Stewart gave the Mighty Oaks the lead 3-2 with a single, the first of four two-out runs they scored in the inning.
Delong and
Karington Briscoe both had two hits for the Eagles, who fall to 10-33 overall and 8-24 in the RSC. With Tuesday's losses, Midway was eliminated from the River States Conference Tournament.
The season will end with road doubleheaders each of the next two days, starting with at trip to Brescia at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Wednesday.