MONTGOMERY, Ill. – Benedictine University's Asia Robinette delivered a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning to send in the only run of the game as the Lakeland University softball season came to an end with a 1-0 loss in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Eagles knocked out the No. 5 seed Muskies in Game 2 of the tourney, advancing to face top seed Concordia University Wisconsin later in the day. Concordia defeated Benedictine 5-0, setting up tomorrow's championship game between CUW and No. 3 seed Milwaukee School of Engineering, which defeated No. 2 seed Aurora University 6-5 in eight innings in Game 3 to advance to the final.
The Muskies finished their season with an 18-15 record and went 0-1 in the conference tourney after it was altered from a double-elimination format to a single-elimination after two straight days of rain. Lakeland waited two days to get on the field to face Benedictine, and when the teams did play it was a classic pitcher's duel.
Benedictine's Alexandra Loizon allowed just four hits and struck out six, but Lakeland's
Skylar Hall (
So.-Negaunee, Mich.) matched her much of the way. Hall allowed six hits and struck out three, and worked out of potential each of the first four innings after the Eagles advanced a runner to second base.
The game's lone run came in the bottom of the fifth with a rally all after two were out. Hall retired the first two batters before Megan Fast walked and Alyssa Gill singled to move pinch runner Skylar Pineda to third. Robinette then singled to center to score Pineda and give Benedictine a 1-0 lead.
The Muskies received doubles from
Elizabeth Rohr (
Fr.-Kewaunee, Wis.) in the third and
Hannah Hornsby (
Brookville, Ind.) in the fifth but had their best chance in the sixth.
Nyah Odekirk (
So.-Fond du Lac, Wis.) led off with a single and
Hannah Nelson (
So.-Loves Park, Ill.) walked to bring up the heart of the order, but a strikeout and then two line outs ended the inning.
Lakeland's final at bat started with two strikeouts before Hornsby singled, but Loizon got Rohr to foul out to first base to end the game and give the Eagles their first win this season over the Muskies after Lakeland swept the teams' earlier doubleheader.
Lakeland still finished with its first winning record since 2016, and its 18 wins also are the most by a Muskies softball team since the 2016 team finished 21-17 overall.
NACC Tournament home page
