Mount Mercy Secures 2021 #HeartSB Tournament Title

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Payton Bruner tied the game with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning and Samantha Lee's RBI single in the eighth gave fourth-seeded Mount Mercy a 5-4 victory over top-seeded Grand View in the finals of the 2021 Heart of America Softball Championship on Sunday at Busse Field.

The come-from-behind win also earned the Mustangs (33-14) an automatic berth in the NAIA Softball Championship, their first since 2010. The Vikings (42-11) are also headed to nationals by virtue of their Heart of America regular season title. Another Heart team, fourth-ranked Central Methodist, will likely be in as well. Qualifiers and pairings for the national tournament will be announced by the NAIA during a selection show on Tuesday afternoon.

Mount Mercy entered the Heart finals as the only unbeaten team left in the tournament, while Grand View came in having won five in a row since opening the championship with a 4-1 loss to eighth-seeded William Penn. The Vikings kept the Mustangs at bay for the majority of the day, holding Mount Mercy scoreless for 10 consecutive innings.

After a 6-0 loss in the first championship final, the offensive struggles continued for the Mustangs in game two. They managed only two hits during the first three innings before getting a pair in the bottom of the fourth. Alexis Berry, who has been one of Mount Mercy's best clutch hitters down the stretch, came through again with an RBI single that scored Emily Oler to tie the game at 1-1.

Grand View capitalized on four hits and a pair of Mount Mercy errors to take what seemed to be an insurmountable 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. That's when the Mustang bats came to life. A Jaicee Lyons base hit followed by a sacrifice bunt and a walk brought Bruner to the plate with one out. Bruner, who had four of Mount Mercy's 10 hits, crushed a 3-run shot just inside the foul pole in left field to even the game at 4-4.

Kalli Minger (7-6), in relief of Oler, kept the Vikings at bay for 2-1/3 innings to give the Mustangs another shot. They seized their opportunity against Heart Co-Pitcher of the Year Hannah Pals in the bottom of the eighth. After a strikeout to lead off the frame, Braughton walked and Bruner singled to bring Lee to the plate with one out. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Lee drilled a base hit to right-center field to scored Braughton with the game-winner.