Indiana Wesleyan season ends in 10th inning barn-burner

Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday started a game in the elimination bracket against Our Lady of the Lake University but before the game could be decided, more weather would force suspension of play for the remainder of the evening and the teams to return this morning to complete the game in a scoreless tie heading though the fourth inning. OLLU would pull out the win in the 10th inning by a score of 2-1.

The Wildcats would score in the top of the fifth inning when Courtney Thomas doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a fly out by Maddie Martin. With two outs, Brylee Bilger doubled to bring in Thomas and give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

The lead would hold until the bottom of the seventh when Our Lady of the Lake would score on a sacrifice fly to tie the game and usher in extra innings where both teams would threaten in the eighth inning but fail to score. The Wildcats would leave two more runners on base in the top of the ninth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, OLLU would get three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out. Wesleyan would get a pop out in the infield to get the second out of the inning. In about the highest leverage situation that a college team can face, Avery Toole, the pitcher for the Wildcats would get them out of a jam with another pop out, this one in foul territory to extend the game to the tenth inning.

After Wesleyan did not manage to score, OLLU would get a leadoff walk and then would get an infield single off a hit that ricocheted off the pitcher allowing the runner to move to third on the play. Avery Toole would leave the game due to injury leaving runners on first and third with no outs. With Isabelle Beidelschies entering to pitch, on her first pitch OLLU’s Lilly Rocha would bunt. The bunt was good enough to force the catcher out enough to field it to be just late getting back to the plate to successfully tag out the runner coming home. The run was the game winner for OLLU, and seals the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats with a fourth place finish in the tournament.

Connersville graduate Sara Ruble would go 1 for 5 on the day. For the entire World Series she would end up with a .470 batting average on 8 hits in 17 at bats; she would also finish with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI including the walk off RBI to advance in game one over Marian.

The Wildcats finish the season 43-15 record and a fourth place finish in the NAIA World Series.