Courtesy of Midland Athletics
OKLAHOMA CITY – It was a matchup of the top two teams in the bracket on Wednesday as (RV) Midland University faced No. 5-ranked and defending national champion Oklahoma City University. The Stars who were looking to defend their title from 2022 were able to force a second game, winning 3-1, before the Warriors claimed their fourth-ever World Series appearance with a 2-1 win in game two.
GAME ONE: Oklahoma City 3, Midland 1
As was the case in the first meeting on Tuesday, runs were at a premium as the Warriors and the Stars faced off in the bracket championship. Midland was the first to produce a run as Emily Prai hit a double to left field behind a one-out walk issued to Ariyana Crafton in the 3rd.
With runners in scoring position, Crafton took advantage of an errant pitch that sailed to the backstop. The wild pitch scored her with ease from third as the Warriors went up 1-0. They held on to the edge until the 6th when the Stars caught a break in the game.
A two-out single started the OCU offense and then they got an assist from the largest star in the solar system as the sun blinded the Warriors’ defense. A miscue by the MU kept the inning going and then a single through the left side gave the Stars a 2-1 lead. Midland’s second error of the inning allowed an insurance run to score, heading into the final inning.
In the 7th, the Warriors threatened as they worked the bases loaded. They would run out of outs as OCU took the contest to force a decisive second game of the day.
Statistical Standouts
- Emily Prai: 4-for-4, 2B, SB
- Aliyah Rincon: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 4K
GAME TWO: Midland 2, Oklahoma City 1
The final game of the day saw the Stars strike first as they took advantage of a pair of errors by the Warriors in the 2nd. After reaching on a one-out error and advancing to second, another error in the infield allowed OCU to score. A flyout to right field wasn’t deep enough to advance any runners and Midland got out of the inning as Amanda Schmaderer corralled a foul ball in front of the OCU dugout.
Midland’s defense rose to the occasion several times with the game’s outcome hanging in the balance. In the 4th, Ali Smith thwarted a steal attempt by OCU to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom half, Emily Prai continued her sharp-hitting day with a leadoff triple. As was the case in each game between the teams before, the Warriors scored on a mishandled wild pitch, tying the game at 1-1.
OCU got a leadoff double to start the 5th but was unable to get her all the way around to score. Aliyah Rincon, who went the distance with 72 pitches, was efficient in allowing her teammates to pick up outs in the field. A couple of the outs came behind the plate as Smith snagged two pop-ups around the plate from her catcher’s position.
In the bottom of the 6th, Prai hit a one-out single ahead of a single by Roni Foote, and a walk issued to Carly Pfitzer. With the bases loaded, Schmaderer hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Prai from third.
Three outs away from securing its first trip to the World Series since 2011, Midland got a pop-up to third for the first out. After a bunt single, a groundout to second and another to the circle closed the book as the Warriors punched their ticket.
Statistical Standouts
- Emily Prai: 2-for-3, 2 R, 3B
- Amanda Schmaderer: 0-for-2, RBI, SAC
- Carly Pfitzer: 1-for-2, SB
- Aliyah Rincon: 7.0 IP, 4 H, R
“This team continues to play and fight for each other,” said head coach Beth Singleton. “We’ve played a challenging schedule and had to overcome adversity this year. We are excited to be heading to the World Series in Georgia.”
Midland (39-13) will be one of ten teams in the 2023 NAIA Softball World Series in just over a week’s time. Play begins on Thursday, May 25 in Columbus, Georgia. Official times and matchups will be announced by the NAIA later this week.
