MVNU (22-17), the No. 4 seed in the five-team double elimination tournament, began the day by picking up where the Lady Cougars left off on Thursday in the loser’s bracket championship game with No. 2 seed Ohio Dominican University. The scoreless game had been halted with two outs in the top of the third inning when heavy rains forced the game to be suspended.

MVNU got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning. After being no-hit through 3.2 innings, junior designated player Lauretta Wallace (left) doubled to left center with two outs to plate junior first baseman Michelle Gaston who had been hit by a pitch as the Lady Cougars took a 1-0 lead.

That lead was short-lived, though, when the Lady Panthers (27-23) took advantage of a walk, a hit, and an error to knot the score at 1-1 on an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Amanda Ritzler drove in Sarah Rante with a two-out, RBI single.

The score remained 1-1 through seven innings as the game moved into extra innings. Junior catcher Caitlin Murphy led off the top of the eighth inning with a single, moved to second on a ground out, and advanced to third on a fly out. Then, Wallace blasted a two-out, two-run home run to rightfield to put MVNU on top 3-1. It was her first home run of the season after hitting four last year.

Ohio Dominican threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning with a lead-off single by Danielle Larson, but a ground out and two infield pop-ups gave the Lady Cougars a hard-fought 3-1 victory and moved them into the AMC Tournament championship game.

Senior right-hander Candace White (20-12) (right) earned the victory on the mound as she allowed just three hits, two walks, and one unearned run over eight innings with seven strikeouts as she broke the school’s single-season strikeout record of 138 set by Jessica Moore in 1997. The victory also made her only the second pitcher in MVNU history to reach the 20-win mark in a season as she joined Julie Ray, who posted a school-record 22 wins in 1992.

Shana Etter tried to match White pitch for pitch as she gave up just five hits, three walks, and three runs over eight innings with one strikeout as she took the loss.

Wallace went 2-for-2 with all three RBI to pace the Lady Cougars, while Ohio Dominican managed just three singles.

With the win, MVNU advanced to face top-seeded Notre Dame (30-9), the AMC regular-season champion, in the AMC Tournament title game needing to beat the Lady Falcons twice in order to advance to the NAIA National Tournament.

The Lady Cougars got on the scoreboard first in the top of the first inning when freshman outfielder MacKenzie Shaw singled to lead off the game, moved to second on a sacrifice by senior third baseman Karly Clay, and came around to score on an RBI-double by Murphy to take a 1-0 lead.

Notre Dame answered in its half of the first inning as the Lady Falcons loaded the bases with no outs on a double by Anna Ball, a single by Candace Shofar, and a walk to Mallory Harder. After a fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Tara Meyer knotted the score at 1-1 with a run-scoring single down the leftfield line.

MVNU took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning on another RBI-double by Murphy that scored Shaw, who had singled once again.

Notre Dame responded once again, though, with a single by Jillian Gigliotti and a double by Steph Tartaglione to put runners at second and third with no outs. After the first out was recorded, Gigliotti scampered home on a sacrifice fly by Jessica Fiorilli to tie the game at 2-2.

The Lady Falcons took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when with two outs Meyer doubled and came around to score on a two-run homer by Fiorilli as Notre Dame took a 4-2 lead.

MVNU was unable to rally as the final nine Lady Cougars were retired in order over the final three innings as the Lady Falcons prevailed 4-2 to claim both the AMC regular-season and tournament titles and earn a berth into the NAIA National Tournament in Decatur, Ala.

“I am extremely proud of the way that we played during this tournament,” said MVNU coach Jeana Howald. “We battled in every game and really represented MVNU and ourselves well. We have nothing to hang our heads about.”

White took the loss for MVNU as she gave up 10 hits, two walks, and four runs over six innings with four strikeouts to finish with a new school-record 146 strikeouts on the year. She also set school records with 198.2 innings pitched and 37 appearances as she pitched in all but two of the team’s games.

Tara Meyer (16-3) picked up the win on the mound for Notre Dame as she allowed just five hits, one walk, and two runs over seven innings with three strikeouts.

Offensively, Shaw (left) led the Lady Cougars by going 3-for-4 and scoring twice, while Murphy was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and both of the team’s RBI. Meanwhile, Ball was 3-for-4 to pace the Lady Falcons, and Meyer was 2-for-3. Fiorilli also drove in three of the team’s four runs.