AKRON, OHIO –Tournament Most Valuable Player Sarah Burnham threw a three-hit shutout and All-Tournament selection Kindra Gingerich was 3-for-3 with two runs scored as top-seeded St. Mary of the Woods College defeated second-seeded Carlow University 6-0 for the 2016 United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) Championship on Thursday at Firestone Stadium.
The Pomeroys, who won their tenth title in school history, got on the scoreboard in the third as Kindra Gingerich singled up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Burnham. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Gingerich scored as Marlee Yeager fought off a 15-pitch at-bat and laced a double to left center for a 1-0 lead. Camille Ulery followed with a single down the right field line to score Yeager as the Pomeroys went up 2-0.
In the fifth inning, the top-seed scored a third run as Yeager started with a walk and advanced to second on an error. Combs followed with a single up the middle to plate Yeager for a 3-0 advantage.
St. Mary of the Woods capped its championship run with a three-run sixth inning. Gingerich started with a single and took advantage of a bunt single from Emma Riffe and advanced to third. Burnham drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly to right field. After a walk to Yeager, Ulery knocked in her second run of the day with a single to left which plated Riffe. A two-out single through the left side from Kelly Combs scored Yeager for the 6-0 advantage.
Burnham made it work on the mound for St. Mary of The Woods (31-6). The two-time USCAA Player of the Year limited the second-seeded Celtics to three hits and all of those were by Marla Small who was 3-for-3 in the game for Carlow. The Celtics ended the season with a 30-14 record.
For the tournament, Burnham threw all 27 innings and had 16 strikeouts while allowing three earned runs for a 0.78 ERA.
Gingerich was 3-for-3 for the Pomeroys who had 14 hits as a team. Yeager (2-for-2, 3 runs), Ulery (2-for-4, 2RBIs), Combs (2-for-4, 2 RBIs) and Nicole Niespodziany (2-for-4) all had multiple hits for the champions.
2016 USCAA All-Tournament Team
Tournament MVP – Sarah Burnham, Sr., Pitcher, St. Mary Of The Woods
|
Designated Player |
Cleary |
Kaitlin Dormire |
|
Pitcher |
Penn State Hazleton |
Kayla Rhome |
|
First Base |
Penn State Brandywine |
Katy Steffen |
|
Second Base |
NHTI |
Hannah Seidner |
|
Pitcher |
NHTI |
Tori Lemay |
|
Second Base |
Carlow |
Marla Small |
|
Center Field |
Carlow |
Kenzie Young |
|
Center Field |
St. Mary Of The Woods |
Kindra Gingerich |
|
Third Base |
St. Mary Of The Woods |
Marlee Yeager |
