No. 3 Seed Softball Unable to Complete Comeback Against No. 1 Seed Reinhardt

KINGSPORT, Tenn.- The third-seeded softball team played for a chance to stay on the right side of the bracket and move to the championship series of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Softball Championship Tournament on Thursday. The team faced the No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Reinhardt University Lady Eagles.

The first runs of the game went on the board in the third inning. 

TWU started the scoring as Hallie DeArman got on base with a single to left field. Carlynn Atamaniuk followed with a single, putting two runners on base. Pinch-runner Ali Richards became the first run of the game when Macy Chastain hit a single to center field, giving the team a 1-0 lead. The advantge grew to three runs when Taylor Penning hit a double to right-center field, giving the team a 3-0 lead at the end of the top of the third inning.

The momentum changed though as Reinhardt scored seven runs between the bottom of the third and fifth innings. By the end of the sixth inning, the Lady Bulldogs cut the deficit to one run.

Emily Higgins opened the inning with a single and was eventually joined on base by Kaley Bradley and DeArman, who both hit singles to get on. Tatum Massengale came in as a pinch-hitter, belting a ball down the right field line to clear the bases and end up on third with a triple, making the score 7-6. Unfortunately, Tennessee Wesleyan was not able to find the game-tying or game-winning run, falling by a final score of 7-6.

Isabella Jenkins and Madison Stott split time in the circle for the Lady Bulldogs.

TWU (26-12) will now have to win three games in a row to win an AAC Tournament Title. Their first win has to come against the No. 2 seed Johnson University on Friday at 11:00 a.m. A win will move them to the championship series at 1:00  p.m., on Friday.