PEORIA, Ill. - For the second-straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) tournament game the Golden Eagles won on a walk-off. Spalding defeated No. 3 Webster University 5-4 in the elimination round.
SPALDING 5, WEBSTER 4
The first two and a half innings were scoreless before the Golden Eagles broke things open in the bottom of the third.
A fielding error by the Gorlok shortstop, with the bases loaded, brought two runners home.
Bella Velez followed that with a two-RBI single to build the SU lead to 4-0.
Webster tied things up with a single and two doubles in the top of the fifth. It was the first lead for the opponents in the game.
With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, it was
Madison Loechle up to lead off. She hit a double to left center to place herself in scoring position.
Grayce Marcum was next and grounded out to the pitcher which moved Loechle to third.
Jessica Tucker was next to the plate and she advanced to second after being hit by a pitch and stealing second.
Facing two outs, after a Spalding ground out,
Hayleigh Gnagie hit a walk-off single that scored Loechle. The score secured the 5-4 win and sent the Golden Eagles to the title game.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
- Madison Loechle led all hitters with a 3-for-4 performance. She had the only extra-base hit of any Spalding batter.
- Three different SU batters notched one RBI each: Grayce Marcum, Bella Velez, and Hayleigh Gnagie.
- Michaela Ferman got the start in the circle and earned the win for the Golden Eagles. She allowed four runs on six hits and had her only strikeout in a pivotal moment in the seventh inning.
- Spalding led in hits 9-6 and committed no errors to Webster's two.
NEXT FOR SPALDING
The Golden Eagles take on No. 2 Fontbonne in the SLIAC Tournament Championship tomorrow at 1 p.m. EST at the Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria, Ill.
