Lady Buffs stay alive with 9th inning power surge

The West Texas A&M Lady Buffs refused to let their season end on Saturday night, using a dramatic three-home-run outburst in the ninth inning to defeat Missouri Southern State, 6-3, in an elimination game at the NCAA Division II College World Series in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

WT wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Trinity Kuntz delivered an RBI bloop single down the right-field line in the first inning, bringing home Jordyn De Los Santos for an early lead. The Lady Buffs extended their advantage in the third when Bella Holland launched a solo home run over the left-field wall. Later in the inning, Kuntz struck again with an RBI double to right-center, scoring De Los Santos and giving WT a 3-0 cushion.

Missouri Southern battled back in the fifth inning. A leadoff home run from Maddie Rolfs cut into the deficit before a two-out, two-run single tied the contest at 3-3.

The Lady Buffs had a prime opportunity to regain the lead in the sixth after loading the bases with no outs, but Missouri Southern escaped the jam. Neither team could break through over the next several innings, sending the game into extra innings for the second time in three days for WT.

The decisive moment came in the ninth. Avery Cannon opened the inning with a solo blast to left-center, putting the Lady Buffs back on top. Two batters later, Holland connected on her second home run of the night, sending a shot off the center-field scoreboard. De Los Santos then added insurance with her 27th homer of the season, stretching the lead to 6-3.

Reagan Sucher earned the victory with 4.1 scoreless innings of relief. The Lady Buffs now advance to face top-seeded Saint Leo on Sunday morning, needing a win to force a decisive winner-take-all matchup later in the day.