Columbus, Ga. - Back in the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2019, the Marian softball team made a strong opening statement as they won the first game of the tournament 2-0 with a shutout over Midland University. Marian's Sydney Wilson logged a complete game in the win, as Marian earned their first World Series win since the 2019 season to improve to 50-7 on the year.

Marian wasted no time making splash plays, as Anna Pritchett opened the game with a diving catch in centerfield to retire the first out of the 2023 NAIA World Series. Midland found their bats and tagged Sydney Wilson for a double and single in back to back plate appearances, but the senior pitcher kept her composure and got a ground out and foul out to strand two runners. Wilson would come back with perfect innings in the second and third frames, as she rung up three strikeouts in the six outs.

While the defense started hot, the offense was lackluster in the early innings, as the lone base runner in the first two frames would be a walk to Savannah Harweger in the first and a walk to Grace Meyer in the second. Harweger would reach third base in the first inning as Pritchett and Abby Madere moved the senior over, but a fly out in foul territory washed the inning.

In the bottom of the third inning the bats clicked for Marian's first two hits of the game, as the freshman outfield tandem of Pritchett and Madere reached. A single from Pritchett sparked the offense, as Madere followed with a single through the right side to put the outfielders on the corners. In attempt to get two in scoring position for Sierra Norman, Madere stole second, and after sliding in safely Pritchett swiped the plate, stealing the first run of the game to give Marian a 1-0 lead after three complete innings.

Wilson continued to work as she scattered a single in the fourth inning, and in the fifth showed guts as she recorded three consecutive outs after allowing a lead-off double and walk. With the shutout in tact going into the sixth inning, Midland got a free base running opportunity after Norman dropped an out at the first base bag. Mackenzie Dalton made two of the three outs as Carly Pfitzer reached third in the process, while the pitcher made the other out to hold the goose egg on the scoreboard. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Marian got a much needed insurance run on the first pitch of the inning, as Norman made up for the error with a 265' homerun to center field, blasting the ball out of the park to provide a 2-0 lead. In the seventh inning Midland would get a single and a two-out walk, but Wilson kept calm and forced a lazy pop-up to Harweger at shortstop, closing Marian's 2-0 win over the Warriors.

Marian had four hits in the win with each of the them coming from the top of the lineup, with Harweger, Pritchett, Madere, and Norman reaching base safely. Pritchett had one of Marian's three stolen bases, and Norman's home run was Marian's lone extra base hit. Wilson claimed her 23rd win on the season as she went the distance, closing her 14th complete game and eighth shutout of the season. The senior allowed five hits and two walks, getting four strikeouts in the victory.

The Knights' win advances them in the winner's bracket, where they will play the No. 2 seed Our Lady of the Lake on Friday night. The Matchup against the Saints will start at 7:00 p.m., as the two teams meet for the first time. 



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