LCU Eliminated In Bracket Play

GULF SHORES, Ala. (May 23, 2011) – No.7 Lubbock Christian University had their 2011 season come to end in bracket play of the NAIA National Championship Monday at Gulf Shores Sportsplex, falling 7-1 to Oregon Institute of Technology and 8-4 to William Carey University.

The opening game started out as a pitchers duel, with OIT’s Jackie Imhof battling LCU’s Meagan Navarrette, and the game was scoreless until Andrea Wheatley singled to left field in the third inning to score Danielle Sayres, who slid into home plate just ahead of the tag.  Ashleigh Larson followed with a two-out single to centerfield to extend the lead to 2-0.  OIT pushed the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with Wheatley hitting her first career home run and it was a two-run shot over the right field fence.

LCU finally got on the board in the sixth inning with Latainna Eltsosie hitting a double into left field to score Andrea Argee from first base to cut the deficit to 4-1.  It was the first run OIT has allowed in the tournament.  LCU had two on base with one out, but Imhof forced Stephanie Rendon to ground out and then struck out Amanda Parsons to end the threat.  The Owls put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh inning with a three-run home run to centerfield by Sara Coates off relief pitcher Carollin Hall.

Navarrette suffered her first loss of the season and fell to 17-1 on the season.  LCU struggled advancing runners on base, going 2-for-18 with runners on base and 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

In their contest against William Carey University, the Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning with Judy Barber following a pair of bunt singles and a dropped foul ball with a three-run home run over the centerfield fence.  LCU answered in the bottom of the inning with Kim Frazier hitting her fourth home run of the season.  The homer for Frazier was also her 23rd of the season and 58th of her career, matching her for the NAIA career lead with Katie Boocher of Bethel College (Ind.), who ended her college career Saturday.

WCU added to their lead with a solo homer by Missy Paulina in the second inning and Barber connected with her second home run in the third inning for a 5-2 advantage.  The Lady Chaps cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth inning with a single to left-centerfield to score Eltsosie and the Lady Chaps trailed 5-3. 

Things turned zany in the top of the seventh inning.  Eltsosie, LCU’s third baseman, appeared to tag the lead runner while chasing the runner back to second base, with the trail runner also occupying the base.  LCU thought they had the double play needed to end the inning with a pair of runners occupying the base, but the trail runner ran back to first base and the lead runner scrambled to third base and no one was called out.  WCU took advantage of the break with three runs during the inning, as Jeana Erickson scored a pair of runs with a two-run single up the middle.

LCU trailed 8-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but they could only rally with an RBI-single by Andrea Argee to score their lone run of the inning.  Rendon had the only multi-hit performance for the Lady Chaps, going 2-for-3 at the plate.  Casey Alexander went 4-for-4 and Barber went 2-for-3 with four runs-batted-in in the winning cause for WCU.  Alyssa Freight, who pitched four innings before handing the ball over the Amanda Longorio, suffered the loss allowing two earned runs in three innings and finishes the season with a 13-5 record.

The Lady Chaps end their season with a 52-12 season and their season ends at the NAIA National Championship for a fourth consecutive year.  The game brought a close to the playing careers of seniors Kayla Van Dieren, Cori Enriquez, Priscilla FaGaines and Amanda Parsons, who was the lone player to play all four seasons for the Lady Chaps and was the final member remaining from the 2008 NAIA title winning program.