Marian University Ind.

Fort Wayne, Ind. - For the third time in their last five games, the Marian softball team landed a walk-off victory, with Thursday's early afternoon win being the second in the Crossroads League Tournament as the Knights staved off elimination with their 6-5 nine-inning win over Taylor. The walk-off delivered by Abby Madere improves Marian to 33-15 overall on the season.

Alayna Tesnar got Marian off to a strong start, holding Taylor off the scoreboard in each of the first three innings of the game, despite the Trojans getting at least one runner on base in each frame. Marian went scoreless in the first inning as Claire Cullen held the Knights in check after Abbey Hofmann's lead-off double, but in the second, Marian came alive at the plate and scored multiple runs to take the lead.

The bottom of the second inning started with a Lily Wendt single, and was followed by Mallorie Beutel being hit by a pitch. Both runners moved into scoring position, and the bases loaded up after Mystic Means reached on an infield single. Two batters later, after a fielder's choice saw Wendt get thrown out at home, Abbey Hofmann put Marian on top with a bases-clearing triple, taking a 3-0 lead. Delaney Rundle followed with an RBI double, putting the Knights in front 4-0.

The lead would come crashing down in the fourth inning, as Grace Mullins reached on an error to open the frame. Tesnar would allow two singles to the next three batters faced, as Taylor scored its first run of the game. The Knights made a pitching change after the RBI single, calling on Lexi Smith to get the final two outs of the inning. Smith allowed a single before getting a strikeout to retire the second batter of the inning, but she was unable to completely escape harm, allowing consecutive two-out hits that saw four Taylor runs score, giving the home team in the game a 5-4 lead.

Smith would get out of the inning with a groundout, and in the bottom of the fifth, the offense of Marian was able to tie the game once again, as Lily Wendt delivered an RBI single to score Delaney Rundle, leveling the game at 5-5. Marian would get a chance to take the lead in the ensuing half inning as Mystic Means and Abbey Hofmann reached, but a strikeout would spoil the threat with Means standing on second base. 

The Knights continued to ride their freshman Smith, as she logged her third consecutive three-up, three-down frame in the top of the seventh. Marian was unable to score in the home side of the seventh as Cullen retired the Knights in order, forcing extra innings. Both teams would go down consecutively in the eighth inning as Smith and Cullen traded scoreless innings, and in the top of the ninth, Smith remained in a groove, logging her fifth frame in a row without allowing a runner.

Tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, Marian looked to end the game with small ball, starting the rally with a lead-off hit from Ella Piercy. Piercy would take second on Abbey Hofmann's sacrifice fielder's choice bunt, while a single from Delaney Rundle would load the bases. Needing any ball hit into the outfield to win the game, senior Abby Madere came through with the clutch moment, delivering the walk-off single to right to score Piercy and win the game 6-5 in nine innings. 

Rundle was Marian's top hitter at the plate as she went 3-5 with an RBI and a run scored, and Hofmann finished the outing 2-3, plating three RBI as she doubled and tripled in the win. Both Lily Wendt and Mystic Means finished the afternoon with two base hits each. In the circle, Lexi Smith took the win, pitching 5.2 innings of relief to move to 8-6 on the season. Smith retired the final 16 batters she faced, striking out five in the win. Tesnar logged a no-decision, pitching 3.1 innings with seven hits allowed. All five of Huntington's runs went unearned, with three charged to Tesnar and two to Smith. 

Marian will look to avoid elimination again on Thursday evening, taking on Huntington for the second time in as many days around 5:00 p.m.

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