(ADA, OH)--Meghan Simons (Minerva/Minerva) led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk-off home run to lift Mount Union past Muskingum 4-3 in the first elimination game of the 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference Softball Tournament Saturday afternoon at the ONU Softball Field.
The third-seeded Purple Raiders (27-15) stay alive in the tournament and will face second-seeded John Carroll, who knocked off Mount Union 6-2 earlier in the day, in another elimination game Sunday morning at 11 am.
The fourth-seeded Muskies were eliminated and end their season with a 26-16 record.
Simons' blast was her sixth of the season and came on the second pitch of the bottom of the seventh inning.
Muskingum scored first in the top of the third on a 2-run double by Katie Reece.
The lead held until the Purple Raiders scored three times in the bottom of the fifth frame.
Amanda Pool (Bergholz/Edison) and Alex Lucak (Maple Heights/Trinity) started the inning off with walks and both scored on a single by Anna Horning (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge) to tie the game at 2-2
Horning later stole third and scored on a wild pitch to put MUC ahead 3-2.
The Muskies answered with the equalizer in the top of the sixth when Brittany Reynolds singled home Ally Mazzei to tie the game at 3-3.
Bre Willis (Navarre/Fairless) spread nine hits over seven innings to pick up the complete game victory and move to 10-8 on the season.
In the opener against John Carroll, Lucak got the Purple Raiders off to a quick start, drilling the game's first pitch to center field for a home run and a 1-0 lead.
Mount Union got an unearned run in the top of the second when Meghan Allen (Hartville/Lake) singled to first base and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jill Rader (Ashland/Ashland).
Stephanie Cain (Akron/Springfield Local) then grounded out to third base. Allen advanced to third on the throw and scored on a throwing error by JCU first baseman Laura Boselovic.
JCU got even at 2-2 in the bottom of the third when Michelle Murphy laced a two-run double to left-center, scoring Jenny Eden and Julie Marlowe.
Boselovic singled home Angela Vistocco in the bottom of the fourth to give the Blue Streaks a 3-2 advantage.
JCU put the game away with a two-out, three-run double by Jenny Eden in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Blue Streaks a 6-2 advantage.
Brittany Danilov (20-5) got the win for John Carroll.
John Carroll then dropped a 4-1 decision to top-seeded Ohio Northern in the semifinals and the Polar Bears, who have already clinched the OAC's NCAA Tournament bid, waits for either the Raiders or John Carroll in the 1 pm championship game.
