PEORIA, Ill. - The Lindenwood Softball team (32-24, 17-10 OVC) went as far as they possibly could on Saturday in the OVC Tournament Championship game, but ultimately fell in game two after winning the opening game of the day by a score of 5-0.
Lindenwood 5, Eastern Illinois 0
Kylee Crowder started off the day by driving in the first run of the opening game on an RBI single to left field that scored
Madisen Noll who led off the game with a single to right field.
Ryleigh Owens got the start in the circle against the Panthers, and held EIU in check allowing one hit over 2.2 innings pitched as the Lions held a 1-0 lead while Owens was in the circle. Lindenwood extended their lead in the fifth on Crowder's second hit of the game with an RBI infield single that scored
Anna Sanders on a heads up base running play to extend the lead to 2-0. One inning later,
Danielle Franz put the game out of reach with a two-run home run to left field to make it 4-0, and
Tori Hatton added on to the lead even further with an RBI single up the middle to make it a 5-0 ball game.
Samantha Roulanaitis would replace Owens in the third inning and would throw the final 4.1 innings where she didn't allow a single run on two hits and struck out four batters to keep the Lions season alive and advance to the winner-take-all game.
Eastern Illinois 5, Lindenwood 2
Crowder continued where she left off in game one by delivering the first run of the game with an RBI single to left field to put the Lions up 1-0. EIU responded with two runs in the bottom of the second inning to grab a 2-1 lead after two. Crowder would once again deliver for Lindenwood in the bottom of the third to tie the game at two, but the Panthers scored the final three runs of the game in the fourth and sixth innings to claim the OVC title.
Tori Hatton,
Avery Wapp, and
Kylee Crowder were named to the OVC All-Tournament team for their respective performances throughout the four days. Despite coming up just short, the Lions set the Division I Era record for the most wins in a single season with 32, and also set the D-1 Era record for OVC wins with 17. Lindenwood will look to build off of a successful 2026 campaign and compete for another OVC championship in 2027.
