Mary Baldwin suffered a pair of tough losses - including a second game that went 10 innings after an amazing MBU rally to send the game to extra innings - and the Fighting Squirrels were eliminated from the 2024 USA South double-elimination tournament Friday.

Starting the day in the winner's bracket, MBU was unable to get the offense going in a 4-1 loss to #1-seed Pfeiffer.  That pushed the fourth-seeded Fighting Squirrels into an elimination bracket game against eighth-seeded William Peace, where MBU rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the final three innings of regulation to tie the game 8-8 entering extra innings.  Both teams had chances in the next three innings, but WPU took advantage of a 5-run 10th inning to gain a 13-8 victory.  

MBU's second-straight trip to the USA South playoffs ended with the team sporting an 18-18 overall record - the second-straight season with at least 18 wins.

In the first game, MBU actually outhit the higher-seeded hosts, 5-4, and scored the first run in the second inning on a bases-loaded walk to Trinity Thomas.  The Falcons responded in the home second with four runs on three hits, including a three-run dinger by pinch hitter Emily Dickerson on the only pitch she faced in the game.

The Fighting Squirrels' offense was unable to get the key hit, leaving the bases loaded twice in the first five innings and leaving runners in scoring position in four of the seven innings.  Reagan Frazier and Jenna Dimiceli each had a hit and a walk to reach base safely twice in the game.

Facing William Peace in the second game, MBU's offense was silent for four innings, falling behind 7-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth.  That's when Emily Hall and McKenzie Tillman brought life to the Squirrels with RBI hits.  WPU pushed back with a run in the top of the sixth for an 8-2 lead, but MBU fought back with a five-run bottom of the sixth featuring RBI hits by Olivia Gagne, Molly Thompson, a two-run double by Hall and a sacrifice fly by Tillman.

Thompson, who had three of MBU's 15 hits, added another RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.  After two scoreless frames, WPU ignited a five-run rally with three-straight bunts, scoring runs on the second and third that were scored fielder's choices.  MBU's dreams of another chance of playing the top-seeded tournament hosts were over.

Hall paced MBU in the second game with four hits while Leanna Rankin, Hayley Roberts and Gagne all had two safeties.  Eleven of WPU's 13 runs were earned on 24 hits, five walks, two hit batsmen and two errors.