COLUMBUS, Ga. – [BRACKET | SCHEDULE] Midland (Neb.) continued on as the darling of the 2023 NAIA Softball World Series on Saturday as the championship reached a critical juncture. The Warriors knocked-off the No. 2-seeded Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) as runs continued to pile for teams throughout the day. Georgia Gwinnett started the trend with a 9-7 win in the first elimination game of the day while Southern Oregon made a statement with a 10-0 win over top seeded Oregon Tech. Cumberlands (Ky.), led by a record-breaking night from Makenzie Keatts, also picked-up a hard fought win.

GAME NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett def. No. 8 Central Methodist (Mo.), 9-7

• Central Methodist put three on the board early with the first homerun of the day. Madison White recorded her second of the 2023 Series, a three run shot, to give Central Methodist a 3-0 lead.
• Georgia Gwinnett’s Summer Hickson got her first RBI on a double to left center to put the Grizzlies on the board.
• Lauren Hill added to the Eagles’ lead in the top of the fourth. The backstop hit a two-run homerun to left field to make it a 5-1 lead.
• Hickson started things off with a solo homerun in a big bottom of the fourth for Georgia Gwinnett, her second RBI of the game.
• The Grizzlies added two more in the fourth and three in the third as both teams traded blows down the stretch.
• In the bottom of the sixth, a wild pitch allowed two runs to score for Georgia Gwinnett to give the Grizzlies a 9-7 lead.

No. 10 Midland (Neb.) def. No. 2 Our Lady of the Lake (Texas), 6-5

• Midland came out hot and grabbed an early lead. Carly Pfitzer hit her first home run of the 2023 Series to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead.
• Pfitzer’s homerun was the second of the day in the top of the first out of the three-hole.
• Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) responded with a three-spot in the bottom half, capped-off with an Ariel Montgomery two-run homerun to give the Saints a 3-1 lead.
• Midland cut into the lead with one run in the top of the second on a Mia Orduna RBI single up the middle to make it a 3-2 lead for the Saints.
• The Warriors regained their lead in the third. Pfitzer recorded her second RBI of the day on a double to left center before Amanda Schmaderer doubled-in another to make it a 4-3 game.
• The Saints tied it in the bottom half. Madison Nunn homered to center field, her first of the 2023 Series, to even things at four apiece.
• Pfitzer continued her assault on the softball in the top of the fourth with a two-out, two RBI single to give the Warriors a 6-4 lead.
• Pfitzer’s home run, her 17^th of the season, set a new single season record at Midland.

No. 4 Southern Oregon def. No. 1 Oregon Tech, 10-0 (6in)

• Southern Oregon began the game exactly as the first two games of the day did, with a home run out of the three hole in the top of the first.
• Riley Donovan hit a solo home run, her 21^st of the year, to give the Raiders the lead.
• Southern Oregon built on the lead in the third with a trio of RBI singles to take a 4-0 lead.
• The Raiders continued to press their rivals in the sixth. Southern Oregon tacked-on XX runs to secure the win.
• Donovan and Cayla Williams combined to go six-for-eight with six RBI at the plate while Sarah Kerling went a perfect four-for-four.
• Williams also had an outstanding day in the circle. The senior allowed just three hits and no runs in her six innings of work.

No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.) def. No. 7 Marian (Ind.), 9-6

• Marian jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first thanks to a bases loaded walk to put the Knights up 1-0.
• In the bottom half of the opening frame, Mackenzie Keatts belted her first home run of the game to give Cumberlands (Ky.) a 2-1 lead.
• Carly Oliver followed with an RBI single to left to add to the Patriots lead.
• Keatts got her second home run of the night, this one tying the World Series record for homeruns in a single game, on a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the third.
• After her team built a 7-2 lead, Keatts broke the NAIA World Series record with her third homerun in the bottom of the fourth.
• Marian responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 8-4, thanks to a Sierra Norman RBI groundout and a Hayley Greene RBI single.
• Caroline Roop made it interesting in the top of the sixth with her second homerun of the season to cut the deficit to 9-5.
• Savannah Harweger made it 9-6 with an RBI single in the top of the sixth to close out the scoring for the night.
• In addition to Keatts 3-3 night with four RBI, Meryn Livingston and Morgan Radford also went three-for-three at the plate.

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