COLUMBUS, Ga. -- With inclement weather altering the schedule at the 2026 SIAC Softball Championship presented by Toyota, Miles was forced to play three games through the elimination bracket on Wednesday. While the Lady Bears put themselves on the precipice of a championship opportunity, they could not solve Fort Valley State for the second time in the tournament, getting eliminated in the final game of the night at South Commons Softball Complex and ending a strong run through the tourney.
(3W) MILES 4, (3E) SAVANNAH STATE 1
Gabriela Garcia started the scoring with her Division II-leading 22nd double that plated
Daisy Bejarano in the first inning. SSU countered with a run in the second inning on a sac fly by Jayla Alexander to tie the score. The rains came and the action was halted until Wednesday afternoon. But Miles kept adding runs while Savannah State's offense was stuck in the mud against
Delaney Gray.
Four straight hits with one out in the third gave the Lady Bears a big cushion. A RBI single by
Mia Vazquez scored Garcia before a two-run knock by Gray brought home Vazquez and
Jada McCalebb, who also singled, for a three-run lead. Gray went the distance, allowing just four hits and an unearned run while striking out eight. She struck out the side in the third inning before fanning the final two hitters of the game to send the Lady Bears into a showdown with arch-rival Tuskegee.
(3W) MILES 3, (1W) TUSKEGEE 2
Miles had lost 15 straight games to Tuskegee, having not won a game against the Golden Tigers in more than seven years - a streak that included a three-game series sweep just two weeks ago. But when the dust settled on Wednesday afternoon, it was the Lady Bears who advanced in the tournament and the Golden Tigers - the West Division champs - who got an early trip back to Macon County.
The Lady Bears took an early lead.
Andrea Harris led off with a single and ultimately scored on a two-out single by Vazquez. Grcey Adkins did a good job holding Tuskegee at bay until the fourth inning. Jordyn Belote hit a two-out RBI double to tie the game and after the Golden Tigers but runners on second and third with one out, coach
Patrick Peasant went back to Gray to get out of the jam. Still, Tuskegee was able to get the go-ahead run home on a sac fly by Kenya Tatum for a 2-1 edge.
That deficit did not last long for the Lady Bears. Garcia hit the third pitch of the sixth inning over the fence in right center field for her team-leading seventh home run to knot the score at 2. As the teams went to the seventh inning, Tuskegee went back to its top pitcher, Monica Rose, in hopes of giving it a chance to win in the bottom of the frame. But with two outs, what looked to be an inning-ending ground ball to Tatum off the bat of Bejarano went through her legs, which allowed
Sara Harris to score from second to put Miles back on top. The Golden Tigers got the winning run to the plate with one out but Gray squelched the threat and sent Miles into a matchup with Fort Valley State.
(4E) FORT VALLEY STATE 6, (3W) MILES 0
With a spot in the championship round at stake, the Lady Bears looked to avenge its loss from Tuesday against the Wildcats. But Miles could not get the big hit when it was needed, leaving nine runners on base, and succumbed to FVSU in the elimination game.
After playing two games, the Lady Bears looked lethargic. They had just one hit against FVSU starter Danielle Bacon, a single in the second inning by
Jada Bradford. But Miles had action on the bases all night thanks to eight walks and an error. Still, the Lady Bears could not cash in as they left six runners in scoring position and had two runners thrown out at home.
FVSU took the lead in the third inning on a two-run homer by Megan Blanks. Miles tried to answer in the bottom of the inning when
Andrea Harris reached on an error, then promptly stole second and third. But she was thrown out at home on a grounder to second by Bejarano. In the sixth, down 3-0, the Lady Bears had runners at second and third with two outs but Bradford grounded out to end that scoring opportunity. In the seventh, with the game mostly out of reach, Miles again put two runners on with two outs but could not get the big hit as the Lady Wildcats advanced to the championship round on Thursday.
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