Softball Suffers Conference Tournament Loss to Grand View

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, (May 5, 2024)- The No. 7 seed Missouri Valley College softball team continued play at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Postseason Tournament Sunday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, taking on No. 5 seed Grand View (Iowa) in an elimination game.  Missouri Valley fell by a final score of 5-0.

Grand View jumped out to an early lead, producing a rally in the bottom of the first inning with five hits and three runs to go in front, 3-0.  Missouri Valley tried to create from the plate with two outs in the top of the second inning, as Sophomore First Baseman Stella Cashin (Alameda, Calif.)singled and Rightfielder Sophomore Jena Emerson (Live Oak, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, however, the two were left stranded.  Grand View added to its lead in the bottom half of the inning, making it a 4-0 score.  The top of the third featured MVC putting another two runners on-base, as Junior Second Baseman Avery Gifford (Kansas City, Mo.) walked and Sophomore Shortstop Aniah Castruita (South El Monte, Calif.) singled, but again the runners were unable to make their way home.  Grand View tacked on one more run in the bottom of the third, while Senior Pitcher Kim Horsten (Moergestel, The Netherlands) got out of the inning with a strikeout to strand one base runner.  

Missouri Valley again tried to rally in the fourth, as both Cashin and Emerson walked with one out, but GVU got out of the jam without surrendering a run.  Horsten took down Grand View in order in the bottom of the fourth, then worked around a pair of singles in the bottom of the fifth to strand a pair of runners on-base and keep MVC at a 5-0 deficit.  Missouri Valley got a single from Sophomore Catcher Makayla Casjens (Galt, Calif.) in the top of the sixth, but the team only produced the one base runner in the final two innings to fall by a final score of 5-0 to suffer elimination from the tournament.

Castruita had two hits, while Gifford, Casjen and Cashin each added one hit.  Horsten pitched six innings in relief, giving up six hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts.

The loss eliminated Missouri Valley from the postseason tournament with a final overall record of 20-28.  Grand View advanced with a 33-16 record.

Missouri Valley finished with a 2-2 record in the conference tournament and advanced into the final four teams playing in the bracket.  Both are program-best performances at the conference tournament since the 2009 tournament championship team.

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ABOUT MISSOURI VALLEY COLLEGE

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.