MARION, Indiana - The Marian College softball team is seeded No. 2 at the MCC Tournament and had to squeak one out against No. 7-seeded Taylor, 4-3 in eight innings, in its MCC Tournament opener.

 

The Knights improved to 34-7 and advance to take on the winner of the Spring Arbor/Saint Francis matchup. The tournament has taken a new twist as the game is scheduled for 1 p.m., after inclement weather has hampered the tourney thus far.

 

The Knights opened quickly and looked as if they were going to put this one away early. A single by sophomore Chelsea Bell (Indianapolis/Franklin Central) and a fielding error on senior Samantha Hypes' (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) hit put two on base with one out.

 

Sophomore Mallory Ortwein (Anderson, Indiana/Anderson) came through with an RBI-single to open the scoring. Junior Melissa Coutz (Indianapolis/Bishop Chatard) and junior Chelsea Young (Brownsburg, Indiana/Brownsburg) put the Knights up 3-0 with RBI-singles of their own.

 

The Trojans responded in the third with three runs of their own to tie the score, 3-3, and the Knights seemed out-of-sync at the plate as Taylor's pitcher stifled them.

 

However, senior Heather Pieper (Greenwood, Indiana/Greenwood) was not to be outdone as her teammates lifted her up in the bottom of the eighth inning.

 

After loading the bases, sophomore Jessica Slayton (Indianapolis/Decatur Central) came to the plate and smacked an RBI-single through the left side to plate the game-winning run and give the Knights the 4-3 win.

 

Pieper threw a complete game, allowed three runs, all of which were unearned, and struck out six. The win moved her record to 18-3 on the season.

 

Slayton, Bell, and Ortwein each had two hits for the Knights while Young led the way with a 3-for-4 day at the plate.

 

The Knights look forward to Wednesday when they play the winner of the Spring Arbor versus Saint Francis contest. Game time is slated for 1 p.m.