Lady Royals Walk Off CIU in Extra-Inning Thriller in AAC Tournament Opener

In their first game of the conference tournament, the Lady Royals battled through 12 innings to secure a dramatic 6-5 walk-off victory over CIU on Tuesday night at Brickyard Park.

Johnson found themselves in an early hole as CIU plated four runs across the second and third innings and added another in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead. Despite the deficit, the Lady Royals stayed composed and chipped away at the lead late in the game.

The turning point came in the sixth inning when Johnson erupted for four runs. A two-RBI double from Dylan Jablonski sparked the rally, scoring Aly Dickerson and Kaylee Dyke. Madison Hood followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to one, and Audrey Moorhouse delivered the game-tying hit later in the inning to even the score at 5-5.

From there, the game turned into a pitching duel. Madisun Pritchard was dominant in relief, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings while allowing just eight hits and striking out one to keep CIU off the board and give the Lady Royals a chance to win it late.

In the bottom of the 12th, Johnson finally broke through. Kadie Presley, who scored twice in the game, came around to score the winning run on an RBI single from Adelaide Hubbard, sealing the walk-off victory.

Offensively, the Lady Royals totaled 14 hits, with Moorhouse leading the way with three hits and an RBI. Jablonski finished with two hits, including a pair of doubles and two RBIs, while Presley added two runs scored.

Johnson advances in the AAC Tournament, continuing their postseason run with momentum after a resilient comeback win.