MVNU (26-20), the No. 5 seed in the seven-team tournament, began the day in the loser’s bracket championship game against No. 3 seed Notre Dame College. The Lady Falcons (31-13) broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning as they went in front 2-0 on a throwing error and an RBI-single by Jessica Simmons.

Notre Dame tacked on another run in the bottom of the fifth inning as the result of two errors by the Lady Cougars as the Lady Falcons increased their lead to 3-0.

With its back against the wall and facing elimination, MVNU mounted a rally. Junior outfielder Whitney Clark led off with a single and advanced to second with two outs on a sacrifice by freshman second baseman Kristin Kurelic. Sophomore outfielder Leslie Banichar plated the Lady Cougars’ first run of the game with an RBI-single, and sophomore designated player Staci Graham followed with an infield single.

An RBI-single by sophomore catcher Caitlin Murphy pulled MVNU within 3-2, and sophomore outfielder Lauretta Wallace (left) capped the comeback with a three-run homer to right center as the Lady Cougars took their first lead of the game 5-3. The home run was Wallace’s team-leading fourth of the season.

From there, MVNU was able to hold Notre Dame at bay the rest of the way to eliminate the Lady Falcons and advance to the NAIA Region IX Tournament championship game with the Lady Cougars’ third straight win in the loser’s bracket.

Senior right-hander Kristin Eyerman (14-8) picked up the win as she allowed just six hits, five walks, and three runs (only one earned) over seven innings with two strikeouts.

Meredith Harbarger suffered the loss for Notre Dame as she gave up eight hits and five runs with four strikeouts in seven innings of work.

Wallace and Graham both finished 2-for-3 to lead the MVNU offense with Wallace driving in three runs. Simmons collected two of the Lady Falcons’ six hits, while Anna Ball was 1-for-1 and walked three times.

In the championship game, the Lady Cougars squared off with Walsh (33-10), who was unbeaten in the tournament. The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Wallace lined a two-out, bases-loaded double to left center to score three runs and give MVNU a 3-0 lead.

The score remained that way until the bottom of the sixth inning when with one out Dana Hartings ripped a three-run homer to leftfield to knot the score at 3-3. It was Hartings’ 10th home run of the season and the 41st of the year for Walsh as a team.

After the Lady Cougars failed to score in the top of the seventh inning, the Lady Cavaliers loaded the bases with two outs. Then, Chelsea Saunders slapped an infield single to first to plate the winning run as Walsh posted a 4-3 walk-off win to claim the regional title and earn a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in Decatur, Ala.

Junior right-hander Candace White started and went six innings for MVNU and allowed six hits and three runs with two strikeouts. Eyerman (right) took the loss as she allowed three hits in a run while registering two outs in the seventh inning.

Hartings improved to 21-5 on the mound as she notched her third win of the tournament for the Lady Cavaliers. She scattered 10 hits, one walk, and three runs over seven innings with five strikeouts.

Offensively, Kurelic, Banichar, and Graham each had two hits for the Lady Cougars, while Wallace drove in all three runs with her double. MVNU had its chances as the Lady Cougars stranded eight base runners in the game. Meanwhile, Saunders and Krystal Sherry both had two hits apiece for Walsh, and Hartings’ homer plated three runs.

The Lady Cougars, who were making their first appearance in the NAIA Region IX Tournament since 2003, finished 3-2 in the seven-team event to claim second place. Prior to this season, MVNU had never won a regional game.