#1 St. Mary of the Woods 8 - #8 Penn State Mont Alto 0

Behind a five inning no-hitter from pitcher Brooke Jordan, #1 St. Mary of the Woods College defeated #8 Penn State Mont Alto 8-0. Jordan, a USCAA First Team All-American, struck out 11 Lady Lions en route to the win. Her lone blemish in the game was a hit batter in the third inning.

Carly Painter, Rebecca Latta, and Kimberly Strattman combined for 7 RBI’s for St. Mary of the Woods. The Lady Pomeroy’s benefitted from 8 walks issued by Penn State Mont Alto starter Sarah Bortner (4 IP, 8 ER), coming off a one-hitter on Monday against Concordia College Alabama. Strattman  reached base in all three at-bats, tallying two hits and a walk on the afternoon.

Penn State Mont Alto will move to the loser’s bracket where they will face the winner of #6 Penn State Hazleton versus #7 NHTI at 5:00 PM on the Pony Field. St. Mary of the Woods will advance in the winner’s bracket to face #5 Briarcliffe College at 7:00 PM on Tuesday at Firestone Stadium. 

#2 Lindenwood University-Belleville 8 - #10 Penn College 0

In the final game of the winner's bracket quarterfinals, #2 Lindenwood University-Belleville defeated #10 Penn College 8-0. The Lady Lynx's Taylor Winn pitched five innings, giving up just one hit and striking out five. The defending USCAA National Champions received big days at the plate from Nicolle Miskowicz, and USCAA First Team All-Americans Kaylin Stewart and Jamie Navarro. The trio combined to go 6 for 9 at the top of the Lynx lineup, with 3 RBI's and 7 runs scored.

In the first inning, RBI's from Navarro and Mikayla Conlin put the Lindenwood University-Belleville ahead 2-0. In the third, the Lady Lynx tallied three unearned runs on a series of mistakes from the Lady Wildcats. Lindenwood University-Belleville plated three more in the bottom of the fifth inning on two more Penn College errors to seal the victory.

The Lady Wildcats' starter Brianne Brewer went 4 innings and gave up seven runs (three earned). Penn College's lone hit off Winn came from Karey Wolfe. Lindenwood University-Belleville will advance to play #3 Ave Maria University at 5:00 PM at Firestone Stadium. Penn College will move to the loser's bracket to face the loser of #4 Carlow University versus #9 Concordia College Alabama at 7:00 PM on the Pony Field.

#6 Penn State Hazleton 4 - #7 NHTI 5 (8 innings)

On the arm of USCAA Second Team All-American Pitcher Tori Lemay, NHTI advances in the bottom half of the bracket to face #6 Penn State Mont Alto. Lemay tallied 16 strikeouts over 8 innings tying the USCAA Softball National Championship record (Owens, St.Mary of the Woods; Christmas, Southern Virginia University).  

The Lady Lions of Penn State Hazleton fell behind late in the game, giving up a run in the fifth and sixth innings. However, in the top of the 7th inning catcher Erin Dougherty smacked a 2-run double to tie the game at 4. The game would head into extra innings after a scoreless seventh inning by the Lady Lynx. 

NHTI catcher Sahara Brown hit the game winning RBI single to plate Lindsey Hampton and secure the victory. The Lady Lynx will play #8 Penn State Mont Alto at the Pony Field at 5:00pm (EST). Penn State Hazleton finishes their season 25-16. 

#4 Carlow University 9 - #9 Concordia College Alabama 0

In the second game in the bottom half of the bracket, #4 Carlow University defeated #9 Concordia College Alabama 9-0. With the score just 1-0 in the fourth, the Lady Celtics’ Kenzie Young led off with a home run, the second of the tournament, to awaken the Carlow offense. The Lady Celtics’ rattled off five straight hits afterward and plated seven more runs before the Lady Hornets managed to get out of the inning.

USCAA First Team All-American Emily Pritts led the way for Carlow, pitching 4 scoreless innings and striking out 6. Pacing the Lady Celtics offensively was Kenzie Young, who went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s. Taylor Sirko and Pritts added 2 RBI’s, and Nicole George tallied two hits on the afternoon. Concordia College Alabama’s Jayia Smith pitched 3.2 innings, giving up 8 runs (6 earned).

Carlow University will advance in the loser’s bracket to play #10 Penn College at 7:00 PM on the Pony Field. With an 0 for 2 showing after earning their first bid to the USCAA Softball National Championship, Concordia College Alabama finishes their season with a 14-13 record. 

#2 Lindenwood University-Belleville 3 - #3 Ave Maria University 2

In a rematch of last year’s National Championship, reigning USCAA Softball National Champion Lindenwood University-Belleville defeated #3 Ave Maria University by a score of 3-2. The Lady Lynx won their second game of the day behind a strong pitching performance from Michelle Pilster and Taylor Winn in relief, who limited Ave Maria to only three hits in the game.

Lindenwood University-Belleville did their damage in the third inning. First Team All-American Kaylin Stewart reached on an error to start the frame. Stewart advanced all the way to third base on a sacrifice bunt from Nicolle Miskowicz, before scoring on a suicide squeeze from fellow All-American Jamie Navarro. Navarro would then come around to score on an RBI double from Mikayla Conlin. The next batter, Pilster, hit a fly ball to left field that was dropped. The error allowed Conlin to come around and score to give the Lynx a 3-0 lead.

Ave Maria would fight back in the fifth. Jessenia Gonzalez led off the inning with a single. After a groundout advanced Gonzalez to second, Amber Presto walked and Kingsley Avery singled to load the bases. However, after pinch hitter Erika Avery struck out, Cheyenne Benson swung and missed at strike three. The ball got away from the catcher and two runs would score on a wild throw to first base. Avery was then thrown out at home plate and the Lady Gyrenes were unable to capitalize any further.

For the Lady Lynx, Pilster tossed 4.1 innings, giving up two runs (both unearned). Game one starter Taylor Winn pitched 2.2 innings of relief, striking out five. Ave Maria pitcher Emily Lemin went the distance for the Lady Gyrenes, giving up 3 runs (two earned) and striking out 4.

Lindenwood University-Belleville will advance to the winner’s bracket final where they will play either #1 St. Mary of the Woods College or # 5 Briarcliffe College. Ave Maria University moves to the bottom half of the bracket where they will face the winner of #4 Carlow University versus #10 Penn College. 

#7 NHTI 1 - #8 Penn State Mont Alto 4

After a rough outing earlier in the day, Penn State Mont Alto’s Sarah Bortner bounced back in the evening to lead the eighth-seeded Lady Lions to a 4-1 victory over #7 NHTI. Bortner went the distance for the third time in the tournament, pitching seven innings, giving up 1 run, and adding 10 strikeouts.

Penn State Mont Alto jumped on top early. Singles from Katie Graham and Bortner, and a walk to Brooke Porter loaded the bases with just one out. Samatha Gladhill followed with a RBI sacrifice fly, Chelsea Pittman added an RBI groundout, and Brianna Glatz capped the inning with an RBI double. The three run lead was all Bortner and the Lady Lions would need the rest of the way.

Playing their second game of the day, NHTI turned to Lindsey Hampton on the mound. Hampton went 4.2 innings giving up 4 runs (two earned). Offensively, Kasie Tucker once again led the Lady Lynx going 2 for 3 on the night to cap her solid tournament performance. NHTI finishes their season 26-13-1.

Penn State Mont Alto will move on to face the loser of #1 St. Mary of the Woods College and #5 Briarcliffe College in the loser’s bracket. 

#4 Carlow 7 - #10 Penn College 10

On the bat of Honorable Mention All-American Jessica Gmerek's walkoff grandslam in the bottom of the seventh inning, Penn College advances in the bottom half of the tournament bracket. The Lady Wildcats will face off against the Lady Gyrenes of Ave Maria University. Earlier in the game, Gmerek blasted a 2-run homerun finish with 6 RBI's and 3 runs scored. Additionally, the hard hitting freshman from Bellefonte, PA now holds the USCAA Softball Tournament Record for RBI's in game (6).

The Carlow University Lady Celtics were led by short stop Kaysie Young's 3 RBI's and sister Kenzie Young's 2 RBI's in the losing effort. Designated player Meghan Dulaney went 3 for 4 with 2-runs scored for the fourth seeded team from Pittsburgh, PA. Carlow University finishes the season 22-20. 

Penn College will faceoff against #3 Ave Maria on Wednesday, May 14th at 2:00pm at Firestone Stadium.