No. 12 Warriors Finish Arizona Trip with Sweep

TUCSON, Ariz. – On its final day of the Tucson Invitational Games, No. 12-ranked Midland University took the diamond against William Penn University and Olivet Nazarene University. Playing under storm clouds and with windy conditions, the Warriors earned a pair of five-inning victories. They downed the Statesmen 8-0 and then blitzed past the Tigers by a score of 14-0.

GAME ONE: Midland 8, William Penn 0 (5 innings)

It was an early wake-up call for the Warriors and Statesmen as they took the field at 9:00 a.m. local time. Midland's offense didn't hit the snooze button as it put up two runs in the bottom of the 1st. After Emily Prai led off with a single, Roni Foote flared a one-out hit to right field and then sprinted around the bases for an RBI triple. Amanda Schmaderer then drove Foote the final 60 feet to go up 2-0.

Midland would add a run in the 3rd and another in the 4th. First, it was Schmaderer driving in Prai with an infield groundout. Then, Ariyana Crafton drove a single down the left field line to bring Matti Reiling in to make the score 4-0.

After working around a two-out double by the Statesmen, Foote hit her second triple of the day to score Prai and Reese Floro. While Schmaderer reached on an infield error, Foote sprinted home as the ball rolled into right field. With two runners in scoring position, Mia Orduna ended the game as she drove in Rylan Gardner for the 8-0 win in five innings.

Aliyah Rincon went the distance, pitching 5.0 innings with three hits and two walks allowed. She had three strikeouts as she picked up her 12th win on the season.

Statistical Standouts

• Emily Prai: 3-for-3, 3 R
• Roni Foote: 2-for-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 3B
• Amanda Schmaderer: 0-for2, 2 RBI
• Matti Reiling: 1-for-3, R, 2B

GAME TWO: Midland 14, Olivet Nazarene 0 (5 innings)

In their final game in the desert, the Warriors' offense was on display from the jump. After Emily Prai opened the game with a single, the next three batters drew walks to score the game's initial run. Reese Floro, Roni Foote, and Amanda Schmaderer all battled at the plate for the free pass to first, loading the bases for Jayci Reimers.

Reimers, who had been watching the Tigers' pitcher work through the first four batters, was quick to jump on the first good pitch that came her way. She drove the ball up and out of the ballpark for a grand slam home run, putting Midland in front 5-0. Four batters later, Ariyana Crafton hit a two-out double to score Camile Vestal who had earned a walk in her at-bat.

Mattie Reiling sparked the offense in the 2nd as she singled home Foote with two outs. After Vestal worked her second walk of the day to load the bases, Halle Meyer was hit with a pitch to give the Warriors another run.

Leading 8-0, the Midland offense scored just one in the 3rdd. With Prai on base with two outs, Reimers drove her in from second with a two-out single up the middle.

The 4th inning saw several substitutions by the Warriors as they had a comfortable nine-run lead. After Aja Henderson worked a one-out walk, Prai reached on a fielder's choice. Then, Bella Pinotti loaded the bases as she beat out a mishandled attempt to get the final out.

With the bases loaded, Foote came up and delivered a single down the right-field line, scoring Henderson and Prai. Two more runs came in as Micaela Rodriguez doubled down the left field line, scoring Pinotti and Brie Lively, who had come on to pinch run.

Vestal added one more run to the tally in the 5th as she hit a homer to lead off what would be the final inning. For the game, Midland drove in 14 runs on 11 hits with one error while Olivet Nazarene had four hits and one error.

Paeton Coler went the distance in the circle. She struck out three batters in 5.0 innings of work while scattering four hits and three walks for her 6th win of the year.

Statistical Standouts

• Emily Prai: 2-for-4, 3 R
• Roni Foote: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI
• Jayci Reimers: 3-for-3, 2 R, 5 RBI, BB
• Camile Vestal: 2-for-2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB

Midland (21-4) wraps its trip to Arizona with a 6-2 record at the Tucson Invitational Games. The Warriors will return home to prepare for the start of conference play next week. On Wednesday, March 20, Midland will host Concordia (8-14) for a Great Plains Athletic Conference doubleheader. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. at the Schilke Fields Complex in Fremont.