Apr. 30—FREMONT, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan University softball’s bid for a Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament title ended Thursday, as No. 1-seeded Midland picked up a 5-3 elimination-round win over the No. 4 Tigers at Schilke Fields.
Midland got on the scoreboard with two runs in the third and added three more runs in the fourth inning to create a 5-0 lead.
The Warriors’ offense was led by Maddison Zach, who finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Jaidan Wehrle added an RBI double, while MaKenna Watkins and Sophie De Rouin each contributed an RBI to the winning effort, advancing Midland (38-13) to the bracket final against Hastings.
But DWU could not get much going against Midland pitcher Mackenzie Groninga, who earned the win with a complete-game effort. She surrendered three hits and two earned runs while racking up 14 strikeouts against the Tigers.
The Tigers got the offense going late, with one run in the fifth and two more in the seventh. Liliana Arreola led the DWU offense, driving in two runs, while Macy Moore added an RBI double. Alessandra Ciurca recorded the only other hit for the Tigers. Alison Ernsberger took the loss for Dakota Wesleyan, pitching six innings and allowing seven hits and five earned runs while striking out four.
DWU finishes with a 35-17 record and now will have to wait to see if they might land in the NAIA national tournament, which will be announced May 6.
A total of 48 teams are picked for 10 opening-round brackets, and there are 30 automatic berths to conference regular season or tournament champions. DWU had an RPI ranking of 30 in the most recent NAIA edition on April 27 but was 48th in the Massey Ratings, which are part of the primary selection criteria.