Marian Drops No. 12 William Carey in 11-Inning Marathon

Hattiesburg, Miss. - In one of the top pitching performances of her career, Macy Coan carried a struggling offense through 11 innings on Monday night, keeping Marian in the game until a Mati Hughes RBI in the 11th inning gave the Knights the only run of the night, as the Knights escaped No. 12 William Carey 1-0 in a marathon contest. Marian's win came after an early afternoon victory against Columbia College, and advances them to the winner's bracket final, with the team moving its record to 36-16 overall on the year. 

From the jump, Monday's nightcap was a pitcher's battle, as Macy Coan went head-to-head against Ryanne Hornsby. Honrsby retired Marian in order through the first two innings on 12 pitches, with the Knights' first baserunner of the night coming on a hit by pitch drawn by Ella Piercy in the third inning. Marian was unable to advance pinch runner Karly Anderson past first, as Hornsby forced Abbey Hofmann to fly out to end the inning.

Coan returned for her second start of the day and continued to pitch strongly throughout game two, stranding a lead-off single in both the first and second innings, retiring the side in order for the first time with a quick third inning. 

Marian was able to break through in the fourth inning as they found its first hit of the evening, but Delaney Rundle's smack through the left side went stranded. William Carey responded with a base hit in the bottom of the fourth inning, but a double play that started with a comebacker off of Coan's glove was turned by Ally Malone, helping the game progress into the fifth inning.

Coan faced her first sign of trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning, allowing two singles with two outs, giving the Crusaders their first runner in scoring position. The junior stayed strong and retired the side with a fly out, clearing the bases to keep the game scoreless. Hits would continue to come along in the sixth inning as Delaney Rundle singled for Marian and Caroline Lindsey got a base hit for William Carey, but neither knock produced a runner in scoring position. The seventh inning would follow with Hornsby and Coan exchanging three-up, three-down sides, moving the game into extra innings for the eighth time this season. 

The Knights managed their first extra-base hit of the night in the top of the eighth inning with a double from Abbey Hofmann, but no scoring came from the two-out hit. Coan returned favor with a three-up, three-down frame in the eighth, repeating the formula in the ninth inning after Lily Wendt's two-out single in the top half did not produce a score. Marian went down in order in the top of the 10th inning, and in the bottom half, a double play turned by Lily Wendt on a bunt after a frame-opening single continued the scoreless deadlock. 

Looking for a run in the 11th inning, Marian found offense with a lead-off single from Abbey Hofmann, putting the wheels in motion to break the zero on the scoreboard. Delaney Rundle followed with an infield single, and after Abby Madere's grounder to second, Marian stood in great position to break the tie with two runners in scoring position. Facing a 0-1 count, Mati Hughes delivered for the Knights, hitting a hard grounder to the shortstop, giving the speedy Hofmann time to score and put the Knights on top 1-0.

The run would be all Macy Coan needed, as she looked to end the game in the bottom of the 11th. Coan started the inning with a two-pitch groundout, but would allow a one-out single. A sacrifice bunt moved Liz Cross into scoring position, but with two outs, the junior trusted her best stuff, forcing a game-ending pop up to Ella Piercy, ending the marathon and winning the game 1-0 for the Knights in 11 innings.

The extra-inning victory for Marian is their sixth of the season in eight tries, and the longest game played by the team this season. 

Coan (19-4) threw all 11 innings in the win, surviving nine base hits in the marathon victory. Coan faced a career-high 39 batters in the win, logging two strikeouts on the day without walking a batter. The junior ended the day tossing 18 total innings and 214 pitches, earning two postseason wins to extend her career-high win numbers to 19. 

At the plate, Delaney Rundle led the team going 3-5, while Abbey Hofmann went 2-5 with a double. Ella Piercy and Lily Wendt each reached base once in the win. 

The Knights will take on the third-seeded Georgia Gwinnett tomorrow afternoon in the winner's bracket finale, playing at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. 

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