Posted: May 29, 2021
Texas Lutheran takes down No. 1-ranked DePauw 7-4 in national championship tournament
Texas Lutheran
(34-4)
7
DePauw
(39-4)
4
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Texas Lutheran | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
|
DePauw | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
SALEM, Va. -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs remained unbeaten in the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship Finals with a 7-4 victory Saturday over top-ranked and finals top-seed DePauw (Ind.).
The Bulldogs moved their overall record to 34-4. DePauw fell to 39-4.
With the win, TLU is among the final four teams remaining at the championships. The Bulldogs, second-ranked and the No. 4 seed, will meet No. 5-ranked (and No. 3 seed) Birmingham Southern at 11 a.m. central for the right to advance to the national championship finals series.
Birmingham Southern must defeat TLU twice to prevent the Bulldogs, the 2019 national champions, from getting back to the final series.
No. 2-ranked (and No. 2 seed) Virginia Wesleyan and No. 1 DePauw meet on the other side of the bracket. DePauw must defeat Virginia Wesleyan twice to get into the finals series. (TLU and Virginia Wesleyan were tied for second in the latest NFCA poll for NCAA Division III).
TLU fell behind 3-0 to DePauw after a Grace Smith two-run double in the first and a Kate Geary RBI sacrifice bunt in the third.
The Bulldogs came back with a four-run fourth inning and took the lead for the first time.
Haley Padilla's RBI single down the left-field line started the rally. TLU then took advantage of a couple of fielding errors that led to three Bulldog runs in the fourth.
After DePauw tied the game in the fifth on a sacrifice fly, Sarah Metzer put the Bulldogs up 6-4 with her fourth home run of the season - a two-run shot. The drive crept inside the right foul pole at the 200-foot mark.
The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the seventh with a Skylar Ouellette double and a throwing error.
Sydney Ouellette moved her overall record to 16-2 with five innings pitched. She allowed three earned runs and six hits and struck out two.
Ashlyn Strother worked the final two innings and recorded her first save of the season. Strother did not allow a hit, and she struck out one. She did not issue a walk.
Skylar Ouellette and Laura Hernandez each had two hits for the Bulldogs. Padilla and Metzer each scored twice.
Skylar Ouellette and Laura Hernandez each had two hits for the Bulldogs. Padilla and Metzer each scored twice.
