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Box Score 2 Anderson, IN – A diverse and frenzied doubleheader culminated in the Transylvania softball team achieving their first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in five years after taking the nightcap from the Ravens with a 9-5 win in eight innings on Monday.
By virtue of winning one of two games in their final regular season doubleheader series, the Pioneers clinched the HCAC regular season title with a conference record of 14-2, one game ahead of Monday night's opponent in the Anderson Ravens.
The Pioneers completed their regular season with an overall record, marking a 13-game improvement from their 2015 record of 13-23 overall, and 5-11 in the HCAC.
Entering the doubleheader, the Ravens trailed the Pioneers by one game in the standings, needing to win both games to overtake the Pioneers and seize their third straight HCAC regular season championship.
After the first game of the day, the Ravens had found the offensive rhythm and the momentum, cruising to a 6-2 win as they held the Pioneers scoreless for the first five innings of the game. The Ravens found their stride in Game One, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run. Anderson added three more runs in the fourth and fifth innings with a sacrifice fly RBI and a triple to score two runners.
Trailing 5-0 in the top of the sixth inning, the Pioneers stoked their first flames of offense of the day to help turn the tide for the rest of the arduous doubleheader. With two outs, Pioneers first baseman Krista DeBurger smacked a home run to left field to thin Transylvania's deficit to three runs, making the score 5-2 in favor of Anderson. The home run was DeBurger's conference-leading 15th home run of the year, and maybe more importantly the third hit of the day against an Anderson team which up until that point, was keyed in defensively.
The Ravens took back a run in the bottom of the sixth inning as third baseman Taylar Kelso stole home to score her team's final run of Game One.
By taking the first game of the doubleheader, Anderson drew even with the Pioneers for first place in the HCAC Standings, as each team's record moved to 13-3. With one final win available for the taking, the tie in the standings created a de facto regular season conference championship game in the nightcap.
What developed was one of the most memorable games in the history of the conference.
Anderson continued their offensive propensities from the first game, grabbing two runs in the bottom of the first inning, and it appeared the Ravens were a well-oiled machine who might be on their way to their third straight conference regular season championship.
Instead, the resilient Pioneers dug in and began mounting their comeback in the third inning. Transylvania took back a run in the third inning when DeBurger lasered a shot to right field for an RBI double to score Madison Dorsey from first, cutting Anderson's lead in half.
More offense arrived for Transylvania in the fourth inning when the Pioneers loaded the bases with just one out. Shelby Gambrell then delivered with a single to left field to score Miranda Mathews and tie the game at 2-2. The next batter, Brittany Mumford, was walked with the bases loaded as the Pioneers surged ahead 3 to 2.
Anderson answered soon to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom half of the frame as Ravens baserunner Brittany Sugg charged home from second base on an infield throwing error.
Undeterred by the twists and turns, the Pioneers retook the lead in the top of the sixth inning as Gambrell came through again, sending a homer to left field to complete a string of four unanswered runs for the Pioneers, and Transy took a 4-3 lead.
Like a boomerang, Anderson responded once more in the bottom of the sixth inning, as a double by Markie Wood drove in the game-tying run to equal the game at four runs apiece.
The Pioneers had a chance with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead, but starting pitcher Ashley Cleverly struck out Jessica Powell to end the inning.
Transylvania's iron woman starter Jamie Lutes continued to match Cleverly, working into the bottom of the seventh inning and efficiently retired the side for Anderson to push the game to extra innings.
With the sun past setting and the game demanding a prompt winner, the Pioneers obliged. With one out, Gambrell drew a walk to join Ashley Frees, who started the inning on second base. Mumford came through with a double to score Frees for a decisive 5-4 lead.
The next Transylvania batter Dorsey joined in with her clutch moment, punching a sacrifice butn to score Gambrell for a 6-4 lead.
With two outs in the bag, Anderson was still within striking distance of the Pios, but Transylvania quickly put their exclamation point on the game as they instantly laid claim to the conference crown. Ever the threat, DeBurger drew a two-out walk to join Mumford on the base paths.
Then, the veteran Bailey stepped up to bat and effectively put the game to bed, slamming a three-run homer to right centerfield to solidify Transylvania's five-run inning as the Pioneers headed to the bottom of the eighth with a firm grasp upon a 9-4 lead.
Anderson was able to plate a run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single, but with one out and desperation sinking in, Wood popped up and Brynn Gooding was thrown out at second trying to secure an extra base, ending the game.
With the eccentric defensive play to end the game, the Pioneers threw their gloves up in the air in jubilation as dusk arrived along with the euphoria of their first conference title in five years.
The 2016 campaign for the Pioneers is one of the more remarkable turnarounds in the history of HCAC softball. After an eighth-place finish 2015, the Pioneers shocked outsiders with a rapid ascent to first place just one season later, defying the expectations of a 2016 coaches' preseason poll that voted the Pioneers to finish eighth out of nine teams.
The finish also caps a tremendous turnaround job completed by second-year head coach Shawn Hendrickson, who inherited a team coming off a 14-24 season. Just two years later, Hendrickson has flipped that record and guided the Pioneers to a stellar season that includes a 14-game win streak.
With their title in hand, the Pioneers achieved the #1 seed in the upcoming HCAC Tournament, a two-day affair that Transylvania will host at Hall Field in Lexington. The Pioneers will begin their quest for the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a Friday
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Head to TransySports.com for the latest information on the upcoming HCAC Softball tournament.
