FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.- After dropping the
opening game in the Fayetteville, N.C. regional of the 2007 NCAA
Division III softball tournament fourth-seeded Salisbury has won
two straight games to avoid elimination.
The No. 14 Sea Gulls (38-8) defeated the sixth-seeded Captains of
Christopher Newport University 6-1 on Saturday afternoon to ensure
a second game later in the day against No. 20 Marietta College.
Marietta edged out top-seeded Methodist University 3-2 in eight
innings to move on and face Salisbury in an elimination game.
The Salisbury-Marietta game is suspended in the top of the third
inning with the score tied 0-0. Marietta has runners on second and
third with one out when play resumes at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 13.
Fresh off tossing a four-hit shutout, sophomore Stacy
Davis again pitched seven strong innings for the victory
vs. CNU. She allowed 10 hits but did not walk a batter as she
improved to 19-3 on the season.
Although the Captains notched two more hits than the Sea Gulls, CNU
committed four errors that led to three unearned runs. Salisbury
had three players with multi-hit games. Freshman Ali
Ritter went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Tee
Dronenburg had two hits and two RBIs, and Meaghan
Murphy also had two hits to go along with her two
runs.
CAC Player and Rookie of the Year Kelly Waskewicz
accounted for Salisbury's lone extra-base hit with a triple in the
first inning. She promptly scored on a sacrifice fly by
Stacey Malarkey to stake the Sea Gulls an early
lead.
This regional match-up marked the fourth meeting this year between
the familiar foes. CNU took the first game 6-3, but the Sea Gulls
have won three straight against the Captains, including this
postseason win, after the early season loss.
At the end of action today, there are four teams remaining in
regional play. Fifth-seeded Emory University, who defeated
Salisbury in the opening game, is the only team without a loss.
Seventh-seeded Lynchburg College awaits the winner of the
Salisbury-Marietta contest. The three one-loss teams will battle
for the right to face Emory in the regional championship round.
