Pioneers Rally to Stay Alive in AMC Tournament

Pioneers Rally to Stay Alive in AMC Tournament- Wil Teague, Sports Inforamtion Director, 4/29/25

Photo by Paige Glenn (CRC Marketing Major '25)

In the program's American Midwest Conference tournament debut, #7 Pioneer Softball rallied together in a do-or-die matchup against the #6 Comets of Cottey College to stay alive in the losers' bracket after dropping the opening round matchup to the #2 Owls of William Woods University. 

Game 1

#7 Crowley's Ridge- 0

#2 William Woods- 4

Conway, Ark.- In this afternoon's opening matchup, the Lady Owls of William Woods University would claim the contest with a dominant pitching effort from inside the circle, holding the Pioneers to a sole hit while fanning 14 Pioneer batters. The Pioneers drew four walks in the game but were unable to scrape a run, leaving 5 total runners stranded. Senior Jocelyn Villarreal collected the Pioneers' lone hit with a lead-off single in the top of the seventh. Senior Natalie Brightwell delivered 6.0 solid innings for the Pioneers, surrendering 5 hits and allowing 4 runs (2 earned) while walking 3 and striking out 4 in her outing.

Game 2 (8-innings)

#7 Crowley's Ridge- 8

#6 Cottey College- 2

Conway, Ark.- Facing a round one loss, the Pioneers stood tall in their do-or-die matchup vs Cottey College in the losers bracket, as the Lady Pioneers dug deep to outlast the Comets, defeating them for their first in program history in extra frames. 

With the AMC tournament life on the line, both teams threw everything they had at one another, stalemating the contest at two runs each at the end of regulation. Senior Jocelyn Villarreal got the Pioneers on board first, lifting CRC ahead 1-0 with her RBI single in the top of the fourth, scoring senior Bailey Cupples, who led off the inning with a double to centerfield. But immediately, the Pioneers faced resistance as the Comets retaliated with back in the bottom half of the inning with two runs off three hits, to reclaim the lead 2-1. The ball game would go quiet for the fifth inning but erupt to life in the top of the sixth as junior Lilly Wessel hammered her fifth homerun of the year, delivering the one-out game-tying home run to left field, squaring the score 2-2. Both teams would go 1-2-3 in the seventh, sending the contest to extra frames. In the top of the eighth, CRC's offense sprang to life, blowing the game up with 6 runs off 6 hits. In the game-winning inning, junior Wessel delivered the go-ahead run with an RBI single, which kickstarted a chain of big-time at-bats and swings from the Lady Pioneers' offense. Following Wessel, senior Jocelyn Villarreal brought in the next run, scoring Halea Wells with an RBI walk. Senior Kylie Cox followed Villarreal, scoring Aubrey White with an RBI single to right field. Freshman Jordan Janak followed Cox with a ball to right field, scoring seniors Villarreal and Kourtni Jagneaux for a 2-RBI double. Lastly, Freshman Maddie Burris capped the inning with an RBI single, scoring Cox to help complete the upset win, eliminating Cottey College from the tournament. 

Freshman RHP Ava Jessup went the distance for the Pioneers, finishing off the Comets by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the eighth. The Lake Charles, LA native surrendered 2 runs off 7 hits while striking out 5 and leaving 4 Comets stranded on the base paths in 8.0 performing innings from the circle.  

Up Next: The Pioneers will look to stay alive in the AMC Tournament, playing the loser of #1 Missouri Baptist and #5 Central Baptist tomorrow at 2:00 PM. #GOPIONEERS