Photo and Article Via Jamestown Athletics

FREMONT, Neb. (jimmiepride.com)– The Midland University Warriors defeated the University of Jamestown softball team 7-5 and 1-0 Thursday afternoon to win the Midland bracket of the GPAC postseason tournament.

Jamestown, which won its two opening games on Wednesday, finishes with a record of 34-14.

The Warriors took an early 1-0 lead on a double by Kaitlin Anders, but the Jimmies tied the game on Kassi Ward (JR/Olympia, Wash.)’s third-inning double.

Roni Foote hit a two-run home run off Kat Miska (JR/Pequot Lakes, Minn.) in the bottom of the fourth to put Midland ahead 3-1, then four straight hits off Miska in the bottom of the fifth led to three runs and a 6-1 lead. The Warriors added another run later in the inning off reliever Lucy Sinkkonen (FR/Cloquet, Minn.) to take 7-1 lead into the sixth.

Katie Merchant (SO/South Haven, Minn.) singled with two outs in the sixth to score Julia Byrne (SO/Andover, Minn.) and Megan Neiles (FR/Winnipeg, MB) to cut the lead to 7-3. Sinkkonen retired the Warriors in order in the next half inning, and UJ began the seventh with a leadoff single by Mariah Wick (JR/Jamestown, N.D.). Wick moved to second on a passed ball, then took third on Kassi Ward‘s single. Jenna Remenar (FR/Vancouver, Wash.) grounded out, scoring Wick to make it 7-4 and Ward took second. Ward then moved up on a ground out by Santina Zito (SO/Boise, Idaho) and came home on Sydney Prussia (JR/Detroit Lakes, Minn.)’s single. Gracie Fisher (FR/Bemidji, Minn.) singled to put runners at first and second, but Aliyah Rincon retired Neiles to end the threat.

Miska (17-3) lasted four-plus innings, allowing six runs on nine hits, striking out four.

Ward was 3-for-4 while Zito, Neiles and Wick all had two hits.

With the Jimmies losing for just the first time in the tournament, the Warriors forced a winner-take-all championship game.

A third-inning run proved to be the only run Midland needed as Hailee Fliam held the Jimmies to two hits and the Warriors advanced to the GPAC championship series with a 1-0 win.

Emily Prai, Andrea Cespedes, and Kaitlin Anders all singled to start the third, and Bobbi Singleton’s sacrifice fly scored Prai for the game’s first, and only run.

Megan Neiles had Jamestown’s first hit, which came with two outs in the fourth, and the Jimmies went hitless until Katie Reisdorfer (JR/Fresno, Calif.) singled with two outs in the seventh.

Katie Merchant (13-8) worked out of a first-and-third jam with two outs in the first, and outside of the third inning, surrendered  only four hits. She went all six innings, giving up one run on eight hits.

Anders was 3-for-3 to lead Midland while Prai was 2-for-3.

Midland (36-8) will host Concordia (Neb.) in the GPAC Championship Series, beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday in a best two-out-of-three format.