Area athletes played key roles as the McKendree University softball team earned its first trip to the NCAA Division II Softball World Series, defeating the No. 2-ranked University of Indianapolis Greyhounds in the Super Regional.
The Lady Bearcats punched their ticket to Chattanooga with a dramatic 5-4 victory, capped by a walk-off two-run home run from Woodlawn graduate Lauren Harris. Harris, the GLVC Player of the Year, delivered a huge performance with two home runs in the game, bringing her career total to 53.
In the opening game of the series on Thursday, Odin graduate Trista Moore came through in the clutch with a go-ahead two-run triple in the sixth inning to lift McKendree to a 3-2 victory.
McKendree now awaits Selection Sunday to learn its matchup in the eight-team double-elimination NCAA Division II Softball World Series, which begins next Thursday in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
