SALISBURY, Md. - In the past
three days the No. 11 Salisbury University softball team ended five
other team's seasons and in the process extended its own. On
Sunday, the Sea Gulls needed to win back-to-back games to win the
Salisbury, Maryland First-Round tournament held at the SU Softball
Complex. Salisbury completed the tough road from the loser's
bracket with five straight wins and a berth in the 2009 NCAA
Division III Softball Championship.
Second-seed Salisbury (39-5) took down No. 24 Emory University
8-0 in a five-inning affair against the third-seed Eagles (32-12).
SU then had 30 minutes to face fourth-seed Bridgewater (Va.)
College in the final game of the first-round tournament. The Sea
Gulls won 2-1 as the visitors against another Eagle squad.
"We had to play very tough. The history of SU softball shows
that we can come charging back after an early loss in a
double-elimination format," said SU coach Margie
Knight. "We knew this would be a special day."
Salisbury returns to the national championship round for the
first time since 2005 and the sixth time overall in program
history. SU will face No. 17 Coe College on Friday, May 15, at 6:30
p.m. on the campus of Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J.
Sophomore pitcher Kelsey Mills (17-2) won both
games for SU on Sunday as she went 5-0 over the past three days.
For the tournament she pitched 31 innings and struck out 15 batters
and allowed four runs (three earned) en route to a 0.68 ERA. Mills
was one of four Sea Gulls named to the all-tournament team.
Outfielders Meaghan O'Gara and Jen
Cahall joined catcher Lauren Brenneman on
the 15-player team.
"I don't even know if I have words to describe this," said Mills
after the Bridgewater game. "We are playing as a team and we are
going to go all the way."
Cahall was one of the tournament leaders in average (.533), runs
(six) and hits (eight) while Brenneman delivered big-hit after
big-hit for the Sea Gulls as she and fellow teammate Kelly
Waskewicz led the tournament in RBIs (seven). O'Gara, the
Capital Athletic Conference batting champ, was fifth in the
Salisbury, Maryland, First-Round with a .400 batting average.
In the tournament final, Salisbury struck first as it scored two
runs in the top of the second inning. SU took advantage of a
Bridgewater error that kept the inning alive for the Sea Gulls.
Waskewicz stepped to the plate with runners on second and third
base and two outs. The All-American shortstop singled up the middle
to score Cahall and O'Gara as SU led 2-0.
The Eagles of Bridgewater (36-11) closed the gap in the
bottom half of the second as a Sea Gull fielding error led to a
run. Bridgewater's Drew Rutledge reached on a throwing error as
Caity Butler scored. SU ended the inning on the next batter to
preserve the lead up 2-1.
The two teams battled for the next five innings as Bridgewater
(Va.) brought in Lindsay Lam to pitch in relief of starter Ashley
Gills (16-5) to start the third inning.
Bridgewater had a chance to tie the game in the third but Mills
threw to Brenneman at the plate to tag out pinch-runner Kristen
Combs.
O'Gara recorded the last out for the Sea Gulls in the bottom of
the seventh inning with a fly out to left field as the Sea Gull
bench spilled onto the field and rushed the circle to mob their
teammates in celebration.
"We hadn't lost at home all season. The loss to Neumann stunned
us [to begin the tournament]," said O'Gara. "This is definitely a
dream season for this team."
In the first game of the day against Emory the Sea Gulls scored
three runs in the third inning as Brenneman launched her 10th home
run of the season over the left field fence. Salisbury put the game
away in the fifth inning with a five-run inning to end the game up
8-0 through five innings. SU scored five runs on four hits. The
final two hits came from Brenneman and senior second baseman
Stacey Malarkey, who both hit RBI-doubles to end
the game.
The Eagles were not able to produce any runs against Mills as
she kept her composure and got out of a third-inning bases loaded
situation. Senior pitcher Stacy Davis came in to
relieve Mills in the top of the fifth up three. Davis ended up with
her first save of the season as SU scored five runs in the bottom
of the fifth inning to end the game.
For the day, Mills pitched 11 innings and allowed one run
(unearned) on eight hits, walked two and struck out two.
"You need to enjoy the journey. We know that we all have each
other's back," said Mills.
Emory pitcher Shanon Anderson (17-9) suffered the loss as she
allowed eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits and struck out one.
"We have had pressure on us from day one. Our players are ready
for the national championship round," said Knight.
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