AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas softball team came out on top of a back-and-forth affair with McMurry, winning the series finale with an Erica Riley walk-off hit in the eighth inning to secure a 9-8 victory on senior day Saturday.
 
Trailing by one run in the bottom of the eighth, the Tornados pulled out the win with back-to-back RBI hits from Ellie Congalton and Erica Riley. This pair of knocks marked the third hit for both players, each capping off a stellar game at the plate with clutch RBIs.
 
Megan Hooper also provided an impressive game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a bases-clearing three-RBI triple.
 
Kannzas Haydel earned a no decision despite supplying a stellar start in the circle, allowing only one earned run and one hit in four innings of work.
 
McMurry was the first team to strike, plating a run on an RBI double in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
 
The Tornados broke the game open in the third, plating five runs on six hits. Congalton and Riley led off the inning with back-to-back hits, and Ashley Hallmark loaded the bases by way of hit-by-pitch. Kylie Pavlicek followed this an RBI knock up the middle, bringing home Congalton, and Hooper provided the big shot with a three-RBI triple. Later in the inning, Amber Hatfield brought Hooper around to score on an RBI groundout, and the Tornados led 5-1 after three innings.
 
After a quiet fourth inning, McMurry answered in the fifth, evening the score at 5-5 with a four-run inning.
 
In the top of the sixth, McMurry pushed two runs across on four hits, taking a 7-5 lead.
 
Congalton and Riley picked up a pair of one-out knocks in the sixth, setting up an RBI groundout from Hallmark and an RBI single from Maddy Ellison, tying the game at 7-7.
 
Both teams were retired in order in the seventh inning, and CTX headed to extra innings locked in a 7-7 stalemate.
 
A sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth gave McMurry the 7-8 lead heading into the final frame.
 
Caylee Spangle led off the eighth with a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, setting up the RBI triple from Congalton, and Riley delivered the final blow with an RBI knock of her own, walking off the series finale with a 9-8 win.
 
Prior to the game, the Tornados recognized its four seniors, Keely Etchison, Maddy Ellison, Ashley Hallmark, and Ashley Soto, for their hard work and dedication over the years as a member of the Concordia Texas softball program. With the season at a close, CTX says farewell to these seniors.
 
The Tornados will return next season with a wealth of talent and experience, bringing back a large amount of this season's roster for the 2023 campaign.