For the second straight season, the Central Methodist softball team punched its ticket to the NAIA World Series.

The Eagles defeated No. 2 seeded Indiana Wesleyan in the Championship game by a final score of 4-1 last Thursday afternoon at Cox Softball Complex in Fayette.

After playing in three games Wednesday, including a pair of elimination games to advance to the championship, Central once again squared off against the Wildcats with a spot in Columbus, Georgia, on the line.

It was a pitcher’s duel through the first four and a half innings of play, as neither side was able to score until the bottom of the fifth inning.

After the first two Eagle batters were retired in the fifth, Kelena Oots singled to centerfield followed by a walk from Kaysie Jolley to put two runners on. Elizabeth Palumbo then singled to right field to score Oots from second base, putting CMU up 1-0. Senior Madison White stepped to the plate and hit a three-run home run to right field, extending CMU’s lead to 4-0.

The Wildcats would get on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 4-1. But sophomore ace Jordyn Ball retired the final four batters in order to clinch a spot in the World Series for the Eagles. 

Ball, a Fayette native, threw her 24th complete game of the year, giving up just one earned run on four hits en route to her 27th win of the season. The win ties the program record for single-season wins, set by Keighlan Cronin back in 2021. Ball also struck out three batters, bringing her season total to 181 strikeouts.

White finished the day batting two-for-three with three RBI and a run scored. Palumbo also picked up two hits, while Lauren Hill and Oots each tallied a hit.

Central enters the World Series with a 52-5 overall record, the most wins of any team in program history.

The Eagles are seeded third and will play No. 6 Science and Arts of Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Columbus, Georgia.

A link to purchase a live stream of the game may be found at: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/sball/2023-24/World_Series_Schedule.