Morning-slide... LCU Rallies Late

DECATUR, Ala. (May 22, 2010) – Morningside College (Iowa) pitcher Kelly Baumert had a one-hitter through 5 2/3 innings, but Lubbock Christian University rallied with five runs and escaped with a 5-1 win in pool play of the NAIA National Championship Saturday morning.

After getting a run with a solo home run from Kirsten Dargy in the top half of the sixth inning, Morningside was five outs away from upsetting the Lady Chaparrals with a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.  Kim Frazier was walked with one out and Kayla Van Dieren hit a single to put the tying run at second and the lead run on base.  Priscilla FaGaines hit a ball into the left-centerfield gap and left fielder Alisha Wheat dove but couldn’t make the catch.  The end result was a two-run double for FaGaines and LCU led 2-1.  They received doubles from Clarissa Maldonado and Amanda Parsons and a pinch-hit single from Loren Phelps to complete the scoring in the sixth inning.

While Baumert was receiving all the attention of shutting down the LCU offense, Alyssa Gutierrez was hiding in the shadows pitching a nice gem herself.  Gutierrez pitched all seven innings and allowed one run off two hits while striking out nine batters. She improved to 38-3 on the season.

LCU is now 2-0 in pool play and 54-6 on the season.  Morningside falls to 2-0 in Alabama and 40-8 overall.  The Lady Chaps will close out pool play Monday at 4:30 p.m. needing a win over Bethel (Ind.) to advance into bracket play, which begins late Monday night.