Engler Delivers Walk-Off in Ninth

The Kentucky Christian Knights battled through an emotional doubleheader Saturday at Grayson Sports Park against the Indiana Southeast Grenadiers, earning a dramatic 8–7 walk-off victory in Game One before falling 11–3 in Game Two.

The split moves Kentucky Christian to 10–8 overall and 4–4 in conference play.

Game One featured multiple momentum swings before the Knights secured the win in the ninth inning.

Indiana Southeast jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the second inning, but Kentucky Christian answered quickly. A run scored on a wild pitch before Alyna Ruiz delivered an RBI single to center field to tie the game at 2–2.

The Grenadiers regained the lead with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to build a 5–2 advantage. The Knights responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning when Alyssa Curtis blasted a two-run triple to right field. Kylie Mathes followed with an RBI single to even the score at 5–5.

Indiana Southeast pushed ahead again in the sixth with two runs to make it 7–5, but the Knights continued to fight. In the seventh inning Curtis scored on an error before Adrianne Chmielewski came through with a clutch RBI single to tie the game once again.

The game remained deadlocked until the ninth inning when Kentucky Christian produced the decisive moment. Rebecca Engler lined a single to center field that brought home the winning run and sealed the thrilling 8–7 walk-off victory.

"I'm really proud of how our team competed in that first game," said KCU head coach Mark Ritchhart. "We had several opportunities where we could have let the game get away from us, but our players stayed locked in, kept fighting, and found a way to win it in the end."

Ritchhart also praised the team's late-game composure.

"That ninth inning shows the heart of this group," Ritchhart said. "They believe in each other and they believe they're never out of a game."

Curtis led the Knights offensively with a two-run triple while Mathes and Ruiz added key RBIs in the comeback effort.