SALISBURY, Md. – For the third straight year, the fifth-ranked Salisbury University softball team defended its home turf to win a regional championship, topping the 11th-ranked Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets, 4-3, in the finale of the Salisbury Regional of the 2024 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Margie Knight Sea Gull Softball Stadium.
 
With the win, the Sea Gulls advance to next week's Super Regionals against the 17th-ranked Tufts Jumbos. The best-of-three series will be played on Thursday and Friday at a location to be determined.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Yellow Jackets drew first blood in the top of the third inning. Amanda Lanyon led off with a walk and stole second, then after a sac bunt, Rilee Baughan rolled a single up the middle to score Lanyon and put RMC up 1-0.
• The Sea Gulls got that run back in the bottom of the third. Emily Stockman singled to lead off and pinch-runner Camille Jones swiped second. Then with two out, Abby Mace powered an RBI double off the wall in left center to tie the game at 1-1.
• Natalie Paoli opened up the fourth with a deep shot to left that bounced over the wall for an automatic double. Carrie Jacoby then legged out a bunt single to move Paoli up to third, and Lauren Meyers banged her own two-run double off the left center wall to give SU the lead. Meghan Reed followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1.
• RMC clawed one back in the sixth. Kayla Davis singled and pinch-runner Olivia Owens took second on a wild pitch and third on a groundout. Jordan Brown's base knock brought Davis home to get the Yellow Jackets within 4-2.
• In the seventh, Lanyon singled with one out and scored all the way from first on a Naomi Sadler double, making it 4-3 and putting the tying run in scoring position.
• Nicole Ortega came on to pitch and forced Baughan to fly out to the warning track in left. Ashley Bush then hit a liner to left directly to Sam Flowers, who squeezed the final out and sprinted in to celebrate with her Sea Gull teammates.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Lauren Meyers finished 1-for-2 with the go-ahead two-run double in the fourth. Meyers was named the Salisbury Regional Most Outstanding Player, going 4-for-7 with three doubles and five RBIs across the three games.
• Abby Mace went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
• Natalie Paoli doubled for her 199th career hit and scored a run, while Meghan Reed went 1-for-3 with a rib-eye.
• Lindsey Windsor (4-0) won her second game of the regional with six innings of two-run, six-hit ball, walking one and striking out seven on 90 pitches.
• Sydney Adolfson recorded the first out of the seventh inning, then Nicole Ortega got the final two outs for her third save of the year.
• Joining Meyers on the All-Tournament Team from Salisbury were Windsor, Ortega, and Carrie Jacoby.
• The Sea Gulls have now won 23 straight NCAA Regional and Super Regional home games dating back to 2014. SU has not lost a national tournament game at home since 2011.

RANDOLPH-MACON GAME NOTES

• Jordan Brown finished 3-for-3 with an RBI to pace the Yellow Jackets.
• Amanda Lanyon batted 1-for-3 and scored two runs at the top of the RMC lineup.
• Naomi Sadler doubled in a run, while Rilee Baughan singled and plated one.
• Gracie Ellis (20-2) endured the loss after surrendering four runs on five hits in three-plus innings. Ellis walked none and fanned three on 59 pitches in her third start of the regional.
• Ellis, Baughan, and Kayla Davis were named to the All-Tournament Team from RMC.

UP NEXT

• No. 5 Salisbury will joust with No. 17 Tufts in the Super Regionals. The Jumbos hosted and won their Regional, defeating Rochester 15-1 and 3-2 on Saturday for the title.
• Game 1 of the best-of-three Super Regional series will be played on Thursday, with Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) on Friday. Time and location will be determined in the coming days.

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Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 199 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.

To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.