OWENSBORO, Ky. – For the first time since 2009, the Kentucky Wesleyan College softball team took down nationally-ranked University of Indianapolis on Friday afternoon after posting a walk off victory over Ohio Dominican. The sweep at day one of the Midwest Regional Crossover hosted by University of Southern Indiana gave the Panthers their fifth straight win to improve to 6-4 on the season.
Game One: Ohio Dominican 3 – Kentucky Wesleyan 4
Kentucky Wesleyan quickly found itself in a 2-0 deficit after the first inning, and 3-0 after the top of the third, but rallied back to win game one in walk off fashion.
The Panthers had two runners in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the third. Meredith Daunhauer led off with a single and reached third after Maddie Dawson got on base with a bunt. Jaylin Tidwell knocked a single through the right side to bring home Daunhauer and get Kentucky Wesleyan on the board. Two batters later, Courtney Lockwood reached on a fielder's choice and Dawson was able to score to cut the Panthers' deficit to one.
A tight defensive game saw no score until the Panthers struck back in the bottom of the seventh. With one out and two runners in scoring position, Lockwood hit a sacrifice fly to left field and Dawson tagged up at third and scored, tying the game at three. With Tidwell on third, Mallory Nease dug in and ripped a line drive to left field for the walk-off win.
Tidwell finished game one a perfect three-for-three at the plate with one run scored and one driven in. Daunhauer, Dawson, Nease and Jamie Tempel each tabbed one hit. Lockwood led the Panthers with two runs driven in.
Maci Brown went the distance earning her second win of the season. The sophomore struck out eight and allowed three runs off of five hits.
Game Two: Kentucky Wesleyan 5 – No. 18 University of Indianapolis 3
Kentucky Wesleyan exploded for 17 hits to upset No. 18 University of Indianapolis, 5-3. The victory over the Greyhounds marks the first for the Panthers since April 25, 2009.
The Panthers jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in both the first and second innings. With two runners on, Alexis Mullen knocked a single up the middle to score Dawson and get Kentucky Wesleyan on the board. Lockwood drove in Tidwell from third after reaching on a fielder's choice.
Kentucky Wesleyan flashed its defensive prowess in the bottom of the first. With runners on the corners and one out, the runner on first took off. Dawson threw the ball to Tidwell covering second, who threw the ball back to Dawson at home to tag the runner from third out at home.
In the top of the second with one runner on, Dawson crushed the ball to right center for her first triple of the season. Dawson scored on a single from Tidwell to put the Panthers ahead 4-0 after two.
The Greyhounds got on the board in the bottom of the third with a home run to cut the score to 4-1 which would hold until the top of the sixth. With runners on second and third, Mullen reach on a fielding error by the shortstop and Daunhauer scored to put the Panthers up by four.
A ground-rule double and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth put the Greyhounds within striking distance at 5-3. The Panthers had a chance to extend their lead in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs but were unable to score. Indianapolis went three-up and three-down in the bottom of the seventh allowing Kentucky Wesleyan to hold on for the 5-3 win.
Daunhauer and Tidwell each finished four-for-five at the plate while Jaclyn Parker went three-for-four. Dawson, Mullen and Tempel each tabbed two hits. Mullen led the team with two runs driven in while Daunhauer and Dawson each scored twice.
Autumn Grady went the distance to remain a perfect 3-0 on the season. The back-to-back Great Midwest Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week struck out four and didn't allow any walks. Grady gave up three runs off of seven hits.
The Panthers will take on Hillsdale and Drury on Saturday during day two of the Midwest Regional Crossover at Deaconess Sports Park in Evansville, Ind.
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