No. 3 Seed Softball Uses Extra Inning Home Run to Defeat No. 2 seed Johnson

KINGSPORT, Tenn.- The third-seeded softball team returned to play at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Softball Championship Tournament on Wednesday. The team took the field against the No. 2 seed, the Johnson University Lady Royals.  

The game at the Brickyard Ball Fields in Kingsport, Tenn., had a different feel compared to the night before. The previous night, the Lady Bulldogs won in six innings due to the run rule. This game needed an extra inning for a winner to be determined.

In the top of the first, Taylor Penning gave TWU the first lead. Macy Chastain opened the game with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Penning hit a ball to left field that gave Chastain the space to score and the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The bottom of the second saw the opponents score two runs to take the lead away. In the fourth, Tennessee Wesleyan tied it up.

Kaley Bradley got on first with a single to begin the fourth inning. After moving to second on a Hallie DeArman ground out, Caroline Moore brought Bradley home with a single, moving the score to a 2-2 tie. The score remained tie through the regulation of seven innings, forcing extra softball.

In the first half of the extra inning, Emily Higgins started with a single and was replaced on base by pinch-runner Ali Richards. Richards stood on base as Bailee Phillips sent a ball flying over the fence for a two-run home run, and a 4-2 lead. Johnson gained one of the runs back in the bottom of the eighth, but could not match the fourth run, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 4-2 win in eight innings and advancing them to the winners' bracket final on Thursday. 

The team will face No. 1 seed Reinhardt University in the winners' bracket finale on Thursday. The game will begin at 3:00 p.m.