Gold, Silver and Bronze Bracket results from the final day of the GCI:
Brenau def. Lindsey Wilson 5-4 (10) (Gold Championship)
Houston-Victoria def. Auburn-Montgomery 10-0 (Gold Consolation)
Oklahoma Christian def. Shorter 3-0 (Silver Championship)
Oklahoma Baptist def. St. Thomas 4-2 (Bronze Championship)
Brenau def. William Carey 1-0
No. 3 William Carey’s 17 game winning streak came to an end as they fall to No. 18 Brenau University, 1-0 in gold bracket play in the 2011 Gulf Coast Invitational.
WCU finishes the GCI with a 5-1 record.
The game’s only run came in the first inning courtesy of a Morgan Smith RBI sacrifice fly.
Alyssa Boutwell hurled six strong innings for the Lady Crusaders allowing four hits and striking out four. Brenau’s Anna Maness got the better of the WCU lineup allowing just five hits and striking out four in a complete game effort.
Carey wouldn’t go quietly and put two runners on with two outs in the ninth; however Casey Alexander flied out to center field to end the game.
St. Thomas def. Spring Hill 9-0
Houston-Victoria def. Central Methodist 9-4
Oklahoma Baptist def. Grand View 5-4
Lindsey Wilson def. Columbia 1-0 (8)
Shorter def. McKendree 2-1
Oklahoma Christian def. Thomas 8-1
Auburn-Montgomery def. St. Gregory's 9-1 (5)
Oklahoma Baptist def. LSU-Alexandria 8-0
Oklahoma Christian def. Campbellsville 2-1
Spring Hill def. Montreat 4-2
Lindsey Wilson def. Auburn-Montgomery 4-0
Anyibell Ramirez struck out 12 batters in 4 innings for Lindsey Wilson and allowed only one walk.
McKendree def. Mobile 2-1
Victoria Buie was the tough-luck loser for Mobile after allowing 2 earned runs on only 3 hits in 6 innings of work. All three hits came from the top three in the McKendree lineup, while the 4-9 spots went a combined 0-14.
Autumn Allen picked up the complete-game victory for McKendree by limiting Mobile to 1 earned run on 6 hits in 7 innings of action. She struck out 5.
Jessica Rogers went 2-2 with 1 run scored for Mobile, while Ally Scott finished 2-3 with 1 RBI.
Mobile struck first in the top of the 2nd inning when Rogers and Jessica Swanson drew 1-out walks to start a rally. After a strikeout, Scott stepped in and delivered a 2-out, RBI-single to right field to make it 1-0 Mobile. The Lady Rams tried to make it 2-0 with a double steal to swipe home, but Swanson was cut down at the plate on a 2-4-2 putout.
In the bottom of the 3rd, the Bearcats got all of the runs they would need. After two quick outs, leadoff hitter Ashleigh Murray beat out a grounder to short and Kari Frazier followed with a hit to put two on. Cassi Brown then delivered the knockout blow in the form of a 2-run double.
William Carey def. St. Gregory's 7-0
William Carey head coach Wendy Hogue picked up career win number 200 as the No. 3 Lady Crusaders opened Gold Bracket play in 2011 Gulf Coast Invitational with a 7-0 win over Saint Gregory’s (OK).
Hogue was named head coach of the Lady Crusaders in 2004 and in seven short seasons has turned Carey softball into a national power. The 2011 version of WCU softball is 17-0 and ranked third in the NAIA. Last season Hogue’s Lady Crusaders posted a school record 45 wins and finished fourth in the NAIA national tournament.
As for today’s game with Saint Gregory’s, after stranding two runners in the first inning, Carey got things going in the second as Anna Lauren Fontenot ripped a double to right field to score Sarah Beckman for the game’s first run. Tan Montgomery followed with single to left to score Fontenot and put WCU 2-0.
Carey ace Anna Ard retired the first seven batters she faced but in the third she gave up a bloop single and infield hit to but two runners on with one out. Ard then worked her way out of the jam striking out Blair Brooks and getting HayLea Harper to fly out to end the inning.
In the third inning Judy Barber kick started a two run inning by the Lady Crusaders with her third round tripper of the weekend. The only other tense moment of the game came in the top of the fourth as Saint Gregory’s loaded the bases with two outs; however Ard got Cortney Reynaga to fly out to center to end the threat.
An error by Saint Gregory’s led to three more Carey runs in the fourth inning to finish off the scoring.
Tan Montgomery, Casey Alexander, and Sarah Beckman each recorded two hits for the Lady Crusaders.
Ard improved to 9-0 on the season firing a four hit shutout.
Campbellsville def. Martin Methodist 4-1
Houston-Victoria def. William Woods 7-1
Central Methodist def. Lee 4-1
McKendree def. Bethel 4-3
Shorter def. Cumberland 6-1
Sarah Murray went 3-for-3 and Allison Blackwood hit her fifth home run of the season, but Cumberland University didn’t have enough other offense to knock off No. 10 Shorter University as the Bulldogs closed the Gulf Coast Invitational with a 6-1 loss at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex Sunday morning.
Cumberland (12-9) produced only six hits in the contest, with three coming in the seventh inning when the Bulldogs had the tying run in the on-deck circle. CU has now dropped five of its last six games with the bulk of the TranSouth Conference schedule coming up, beginning Tuesday against Martin Methodist.
Thomas def. Freed-Hardeman 4-3
Thomas defeated Freed-Hardeman 4-3 in Silver Bracket play. Alexa Fair picked up the win by limiting Freed to 3 runs and striking out 3 in 7 innings of work. Morgan Howard finished 1-3 with 1 RBI, Fair went 1-3 and Daniele Valentino went 1-3 with 1 RBI at the plate for Thomas.
Summer Cole took the loss for Freed after giving up 4 earned runs in 7 innings of work. At the plate, Jill Brock went 2-3 with a triple and Brittny Johnson added a solo homer.