Courtesy of Midland Athletics
TUCSON, Ariz. – No. 12 Midland University took to the diamond at the Tucson Invitational Games on Thursday, going up against William Penn University and Olivet Nazarene University on a mostly sunny Arizona day. The Warriors swept past their foes, winning 11-3 over the Statesmen in game one, and then downing the Tigers 11-1 in the second contest.
GAME ONE: Midland 11, William Penn 3
In their first game of the day, Midland was consistent at the plate offensively with runs in five of the six innings against William Penn. Defensively, the Warriors limited the Statesmen to just five hits and a walk with Aliyah Rincon in the circle. Rincon struck out six batters for her 11th win of the season.
WPU’s offense got things going in the top of the 1st with two runs on two hits. In the bottom half, Emily Prai and Reese Floro reached via a single and a walk to set the table for the heart of the lineup. Roni Foote drove in the Warriors’ first run of the game with a double, then Floro came in as Jayci Reimers reached via an infield error, tying the game.
After Matti Reiling got on via a single, that went off the foot off Reimers for an out, Mia Orduna drove in Foote with a single through the left side, putting Midland up 3-2 off of four hits.
During their second at-bat, the Warriors pushed across two more runs. Prai scored off a one-out single by Floro, and then Foote hit a triple into the left-center gap.
Isabelle Pagan came on to pinch hit in the 3rd and drove in the first run of the inning with a hard-hit grounder to second. With two runners in scoring position, Prai singled through the right side to score Halle Meyer (who singled) and Rylan Gardner (who came on a pinch runner).
Leading 8-2, the Midland offense kept its foot on the pedal. After Amanda Schmaderer singled to start the inning, Reiling delivered a two-run inside-the-park home run down the right-field line.
In the 5th, the Statesmen tacked on a run and held the Warriors scoreless in the bottom half to extend the game.
After getting a 1-2-3 inning in the 6th, Midland put the game to bed as Ariyana Crafton singled through the left side, bringing in Reiling to trigger the run-rule (8-run lead after 5 innings).
Statistical Standouts
- Aliyah Rincon: 6.0 IP, 6 K
- Emily Prai: 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB
- Reese Floro: 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
- Roni Foote: 2-for-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
- Matti Reiling: 3-for-3, 3 R, 2 RBI
- Mia Orduna: 3-for-4, RBI
GAME TWO: Midland 11, Olivet Nazarene 1
In their final game of the day, the Warriors used a pair of big innings to earn a dominant 11-1 win over Olivet Nazarene. Alexis Page earned the start and the win in the circle, going 5.0 innings with three hits, a pair of walks, and a pair of strikeouts.
Amanda Schmaderer, who has been having a great week in Arizona, opened up the scoring as she launched a three-run home run over the head of the left fielder. Emily Prai and Roni Foote, who had both reached via singles, scored on the play.
Following a run allowed in the 3rd, the Warriors’ bats came alive for seven runs in the 4th. Camile Vestal drove in the first with a bases-loaded single. Halle Meyer then earned an RBI as she battled back from down 0-2 for a walk. Ariyana Crafton then singled home the next run, sending the starting pitcher to the bench in the process as the lineup flipped over for the second time.
Reese Floro came through with a one-out RBI single to left which was quickly followed by a triple from Foote. Foote hit a line drive to the gap in right-center and then got on her horse, sliding into third with a three RBI hit to make it a 10-1 game.
In its next at-bat, Midland made the Olivet pitcher work. After earning back-to-back walks, Prai drove in the final run of the game with a single up the middle. The Tigers’ attempt to prolong the game was squashed as the Warriors clinched the 11-1 run-rule victory.
Statistical Standouts
- Emily Prai: 2-for-4, R, RBI
- Reese Floro: 2-for-4, R, RBI
- Roni Foote: 3-for-3, R, 3 RBI
- Amanda Schmaderer: 2-for-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, BB
Midland (19-4) will look to finish the week strong as it takes on the same teams again on Friday. MU will take the field against William Penn (10-11) at 9:00 a.m. local (11:00 a.m. CT) followed by a 1:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. CT) scheduled game with Olivet Nazarene (4-13) to wrap up their spring break trip.
