Sioux Center, Iowa – With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the 7
th, senior infielder
Alexus Reese (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central) lifted a fly ball down the right field line and junior outfielder
Maddi Stahulak (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) raced home from third to score the winning run to give No. 4 seed Saint Xavier University softball (28-12/12-4 CCAC) a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory over No. 5 Bellevue University (Neb.) Monday afternoon in the NAIA Opening Round Sioux Center Bracket at Open Space Park in Sioux Center, Iowa. Senior pitcher
Laila Summers (Joliet, Ill./Providence Catholic) earned the win in the circle and improved her record to 20-6, her second consecutive 20-win season for the Cougars. SXU advances in the winner's bracket to take on host No. 1 Northwestern College (Iowa) on Tuesday, May 14.
- Reese finished the game 1-for-1 with two walks and a double.
- Freshman outfielder Aubrey Wroble (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) collected three of SXU's 10 hits, going 3-for-4 from the lead-off spot.
- Sophomore infielder Kaitlyn Wright (Chicago, Ill./Marist) went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base.
- Junior catcher Lindsay Morgan (Huntley, Ill./Keiser/Huntley) had two hits in three trips to the plate.
- Summers fired her 21st complete game of the season after logging 7.0 innings and allowing five hits and three runs (all unearned). She walked one and tallied nine strikeouts.
- The Bruins rallied for three runs in the top of the 3rd to go up 3-0. Summers gave up a single to start the inning and an error moved runners into scoring position. She registered a pair of strikeouts with a walk in between before a two-out, two-run single gave Bellevue the lead. They added a run one batter later on another RBI base hit.
- Reese sparked a Saint Xavier rally in the bottom of the 6th when she smacked a leadoff double off the left field fence. Wright followed with a base hit and promptly stole second to put runners on second and third. Junior infielder Abbie Carr (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) drove in a pair of runs on a ground out as Wright took advantage of a defensive lapse to score from second base. Senior infielder Brooke Koran (Romeoville, Ill./Plainfield East) lined a single to center and scored the tying run when Morgan sliced a base hit down the right field line.
- Summers worked a 1-2-3 top of the 7th with a pair of strikeouts.
- Stahulak poked a single through the hole of the left side of the infield, Wroble legged out a bunt single and sophomore outfielder Haley Matlock (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) reached base on an error to set up the winning sacrifice fly by Reese.
No. 4 Saint Xavier (28-12/12-4 CCAC) plays No. 1 Northwestern College (Iowa) on Tuesday, May 14 in the NAIA Opening Round Sioux Center Bracket at Open Space Park in Sioux Center, Iowa. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm first pitch.