Marian University Ind.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Fueled by the lethal right arm of Macy Coan and a clutch two-out hit in the bottom of the sixth inning from Lily Wendt, the Marian softball team punched its seventh ticket to the NAIA World Series and third in the last four seasons, as Marian knocked off No. 12 William Carey 1-0 in Wednesday's NAIA Opening Round Championship game. The Knights' undefeated week lifts the program's 2026 record to 38-16 entering the NAIA World Series.

As was the case when the two teams danced on Monday night, offense would be at a premium, and pitching dominated, as Macy Coan toed the rubber against Jayden Sawyer with a trip to the World Series at stake. Coan got the ball first and retired the first three Crusader batters of the game, while Sawyer turned around and retired each of Marian's first three batters on strikes. Sawyer then helped her own cause in the top of the second inning with a two-out hit against Coan, but the hit would be stranded at first as a flyout retired the side. 

Sawyer continued to overpower Marian hitters in the game's early innings, striking out two more batters in the bottom of the second and two more in the bottom of the third, taking down seven of the first nine hitters on her own. 

While the Crusaders' pitcher relied on strikes, Coan relied on her defense, trusting the seven behind her and one in front to mow down the host offense. William Carey managed to get another base runner on the board in the third inning as Liz Cross drew the first walk allowed by Coan in 27.2 innings of play in Hattiesburg, but the junior stranded the free pass with a flyout. Coan's efforts inspired Marian in the fourth inning as Abbey Hofmann drew a lead-off walk, while a bunt from Delaney Rundle appeared to get the bats in order. To Marian's chagrin, the freshman's bunt single was taken off the board because she was out of the box on contact, and she eventually struck out. Hofmann would end the inning getting caught stealing second, moving the game into the fifth inning deadlocked at 0-0.

Coan continued her strong efforts as she sat down the Crusaders in order in the fifth with Ally Malone making two putouts, and in the home half, the Knights managed to break up Sawyer's no-hitter as Lily Wendt delivered a one-out single. The base running was contagious after the hit as Ally Malone followed with a two-out single, and Alex Keimeyer drew a walk to load the bags, but a diving catch from the catcher on a foul ball hit by Ella Piercy ended the effort and kept the Knights off the board.

The disappointment of coming up without a run did not slow the Marian defense, as a swift three-up, three-down sixth inning by Coan turned the game back to the Knights' lineup in the home half. As she did in the fourth, Abbey Hofmann again led the charge for Marian, getting on by any means necessary after getting hit by a 3-2 pitch. Delaney Rundle advanced Hofmann to second, and Abby Madere walked to get a second runner on, providing a golden chance for the Knights. William Carey would get the second out in the frame, but left a red-hot Lily Wendt at the dish, and the senior did not miss when the spotlight turned on, slamming a single to left field to drive home Hofmann from second and give Marian a 1-0 lead. 

The timely hit from the Marian senior scored the go-ahead run and set up Coan with an opportunity to cap a sensational week of pitching. The junior forced a groundout to Ally Malone to pick up the first out with the shortstop ranging to the opposite side of second base to make the play, while a fly out to Rundle in left field picked up the second out. Aiming to lock away the win, Coan forced Albanie Fussel to ground back to the circle, with the pitcher making a routine flip to first to retire the side and close the win, sealing Marian's 1-0 win over William Carey and punching their ticket to the World Series.

Macy Coan's legacy only grew on Wednesday afternoon, as the junior ace tossed her fourth complete game in three days, with the win over William Carey marking her third complete-game shutout. Coan tossed a one-hitter in the win and allowed one walk, seeing two batters reach base as she logged a singular strikeout. 

In one of the more memorable single-week pitching performances in Marian's history, Coan completed her undefeated week by pitching all 32 innings, allowing one run on the week. She walked one total batter in four games, and tossed 385 pitches, going the final 25.1 innings of work without allowing an opponent to score.

At the plate, Lily Wendt played the hero role on Wednesday, going 2-3 with the game-winning RBI single in the sixth inning. Ally Malone also had a base hit in the win, as Marian finished the day out-hitting William Carey 3-1. Abbey Hofmann reached twice in the win and scored the game-winning run.

Marian's win advances them to the NAIA World Series, as the team will return to Columbus, Georgia, for the third time in four years. Marian will learn their opponent and game time for the NAIA World Series on Thursday, May 14, following the conclusion of the NAIA Opening Round games. 

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