After three innings of scoreless softball in the opening contest of the day, the Hilltoppers (33-24) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. With two out in the frame, Shelly Floyd came to the plate and drove her team-leading eighth homer over the wall in right-center field.
Both teams were silent until the seventh inning when the Hilltoppers added two insurance runs. Adrienne Lathrop led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Kit Dunbar at first base. Dana Rey was the next batter and she sacrifice bunted to advance Dunbar to second. Sam Young’s double drove in Dunbar and set up WKU’s third run of the game. After a walk to Renikka Toliver, Renita Pennington singled to drive in Becky Minnis — she was pinch running for Sa. Young — for Western’s last run.
NMSU threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Hilltoppers fended off the Aggies for the win. Sarah O’Neill singled to left field to start the inning and was replaced by pinch runner Stephanie Herrera. Two singles later, the rally was stopped when Herrera was gunned down at the plate by Pennington for the second out of the inning.
Lathrop picked up her 21st win with the complete-game victory, allowing eight hits and no runs.
Sarah Seagraves suffered the loss for the Aggies, falling to 22-21. She gave up just four hits and one run in six innings.
After defeating New Mexico State, the Hilltoppers had thirty minutes to rest before taking on the top-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette — ranked 14th in the country — in the championship game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns would get all the offense they would need in the top of the first inning. Leadoff hitter Jill Robertson walked, then the Sun Belt Conference Player-of-the-Year Danyele Gomez smashed her 19th homer of the year over the centerfield fence to put Louisiana-Lafayette in front, 2-0.
The Hilltoppers cut the lead in half with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the third inning. Alana Towns came up to bat with one out and belted her sixth homer of the season to left field.
WKU had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Ragin’ Cajuns recorded an out at the plate to hold of the Hilltoppers. Toliver walked start the frame and after advancing to third, she broke for home on a grounder by Pennington. Second baseman Brittany Bryant fielded the ball up the middle and fired it home, beating Toliver to the plate for the second out of the inning. With runners on second and third, Brooke Mitchell fanned Floyd to end threat.
Mitchell improved to 27-7, as Towns’ home run was the only she allowed in the contest.
Lathrop (21-12) held the Ragin’ Cajuns in check for the second straight day, allowing two runs on three hits and while striking out five batters. The right-hander surrendered just five hits to UL in two meetings in the tournament.
“It was another well-played game for both teams,” said WKU head coach Rachel Lawson. “Both pitchers were great in the circle, we were just unlucky in the fact that they had a runner on base when they homered and we didn’t.”
Western Kentucky had three players named to the all-tournament team. Lathrop, Towns and St. Young were all honored after the conclusion of the championship game.
