[Softball] Vikings Win Heart Tournament Title

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Grand View battled through a pair of elimination games to win the 2018 Heart of America Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, Sunday afternoon at the Killian Softball Complex. 

Grand View (46-8) completed a sweep of the regular season and tournament championships by earning five wins in the event, including wins of 9-5 and 4-3 over Central Methodist. The Vikings advanced through the loser's bracket after falling to Central Methodist on Saturday afternoon, 4-2, finishing the tournament with a 5-1 record.

A seven-run third inning in the first game gave the Vikings a 9-0 lead after three frames in the opener, an inning that saw Grand View bat around its lineup and connect on six hits. Kaylee Watson (FR/Stockport, IA) combined to drive in three during the two run-scoring innings, while Lauren Poortinga (JR/Des Moines, IA) scored in each frame.

Mae Mitchell got Central Methodist (41-10) on the board in the 5th with a three-run home run, and the Eagles took advantage of an error to score twice more in the 7th before Claudia Farrell (SR/Des Moines, IA) induced a game-ending ground ball to force the deciding game.

Game Two

Grand View jumped in front in the second half of the championship afternoon with two runs in the 2nd on RBI singles from Farrell and Lexi Merritt (SO/Waukee, IA). Both teams put up single runs in the 3rd and Grand View scored one in the top of the 5th before Hannah Steeby pulled Central Methodist within a run in the bottom half with a two-run blast.

Erin Enke (23-4) retired the side in each of the final two frames to keep the Eagles within a run, but Libby Yenger (JR/Indianola, IA) (17-4) was able to work around back-to-back two-out singles in the 6th before setting the Eagles down in order in the 7th.

Both teams have earned an automatic berth into the Opening Round of the 38th Annual NAIA Softball World Series, May 14-16 at one of nine sites. Central Methodist will host one of the four-team, double-elimination Opening Round brackets at the Cox Softball Complex. The complete field for the Opening Round will be announced on the NAIA Facebook page on Tuesday, May 8 at 4:00 p.m. CDT