GEORGETOWN - The Southwestern University softball team recovered from an earlier loss to top-seeded Texas Lutheran and knocked off the No. 4 seeded Centenary Ladies to punch their ticket to the SCAC Championship Game on Sunday against the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Taylor-Sanders Field.
It was qutie the pitching match-up between Southwestern's Lindsey Longuet and Centenary's Nichole Aldridge. The Ladies got off to a hot start, carrying their momentum for a 6-3 walk-off win over Dallas and a 9-5 win over Schreiner, and took the 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
The Pirates answered in the bottom of the second with a two-out double by senior Taylor Curtis followed by a RBI single from sophomore Andrea Hern to tie it at one a piece.
From there, Longuet took over, pitching a complete game and holding Centenary to only three hits in the game and striking out five. At one point, Longuet retired 14 striaght Ladies.
However, Aldridge was equally good on the other side, holding the Pirates in check as the game entered the bottom of the sixth still tied at one.
In that sixth, the Pirates started the inning with back-to-back singles from Sydney Scott and Celeste Silvas. Moments later, freshman Grace Phelps stepped to the plate and ripped a RBI single to push Southwestern ahead 2-1.
The Pirates weren't dont there as they got another run on a wild pitch followed by a RBI single by sophomore Kaitlynn Copher. Centenary threatened in the seveth, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs, but Longuet got the strikeout to send the fans home happy.
Scott was 2-for-3 with a run scored while senior Taylor Curtis was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Phelps, Copher, and Hern were all 1-for-3 with a RBI while Silvas was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Earlier in the day in a winner's bracket game, Madison Raycroft of Texas Lutheran threw her second straight no-hitter as she shut the Pirate offense down. TLU used a huge eight run fourth inning to take a 9-0 (5) win over the Pirates and send them to the elimination game against Centenary later that day.
It is the fourth time the Pirates will play in the SCAC Championship Game with championships in 2009, where they won two games, and 2013 as well as an appearance against the Bulldogs in 2017. First pitch on Sunday is at 1 PM with Southwestern needing two wins to claim the SCAC title.