FINAL SCORE: #6 Penn State Hazleton - 2, #5 College of St. Joe’s - Vermont - 1
RECORDS: Penn State Hazleton (25-16) | College of St. Joe’s - Vermont (24-17)
LOCATION: Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio
IN BRIEF: Penn State Hazleton scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning after they were held to just three hits to that point in the game. The College of St. Joe’s would answer with a single run in the top of the sixth inning, but they couldn’t tie the game in the seventh as they were held hitless to fall by a final score of 2-1.
HOW THEY SCORED: In the bottom of the fifth, Hazleton’s Kayla Rhome hit a leadoff single followed by a single from Leanne Lagowski with a single down the left field line. A groundout by Moriah Lynn advanced the runners setting up an RBI single for Sara Stauffer to give the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a fielding error by St. Joe’s allowed the Lagowski to score the unearned run.
St. Joe’s answered right away in the following at bat as Sierra Jaeger was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a Karlee Moore single. Alana Todd earned the RBI for the Lady Saints, singling to left, scoring Jaeger.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE: Penn State Hazleton was led offensively by Leanne Lagowski, Kayla Rhome and Sara Stauffer who all went 2 for 3 in the game with Stauffer getting credited with the RBI.
Rhome was also in the circle, performing just as well on the defensive side, giving up 1 earned run through seven complete innings for an ERA of .66 in the game.
The Lady Saints were led on offense by Allison Hinton who went 2 for 4 and Alana Todd who was 1 for 3 with 1 RBI.
NEXT UP: With the win, Penn State Hazleton finishes in 5th place with an overall record of 25-16. St. Joseph’s – Vermont, in their first ever appearance in the USCAA Softball Championship, claims sixth place with an overall record of 24-17.
FINAL SCORE: #3 NHTI - 4, #10 Penn State Brandywine - 1
RECORDS: NHTI (28-3) | Penn State Brandywine (25-18)
LOCATION: Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio
IN BRIEF: NHTI scored first in the third inning, scoring one run in a three-hit inning. Penn State Brandywine answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the fourth to even the game, 1-1. NHTI regained the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring one. They put two more security runs on the board in the top of the seventh to take a 4-1 lead, which would be the final score after Penn State Brandywine was held hitless in their last at bat.
HOW THEY SCORED: In the top of the third inning, NHTI at the plate, with two outs, Madison Pellerin singled and then scored as she was followed by Kate Andritz who doubled down the left field line for the RBI.
Penn State Brandywine answered in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring one run on one hit coming off of a sacrifice bunt by Robyn Gannon to score Arianna Segich. Segich singled in her at bat and stole second to open the inning.
NHTI reclaimed their lead in the top of the fifth inning as Hannah Seidner led off with a single to the short stop. Emma Gagnon advanced Seidner to third on a single which allowed her to score on an RBI groundout from Pellerin.
NHTI put two insurance runs on the board in the top of the seventh as their first two batters singled safely. After a double steal, Kate Andritz singled up the middle to score both runners, giving NHTI the 4-1 lead and eventual victory after holding Brandywine hitless in their final at bat.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE: NHTI produced 11 total hits in the game, led by Emma Gagnon who went 3 for 4. She was followed by Hannah Seidner, Madison Pellerin and Kate Andritz who all had two hits in the game, Andritz with 3 RBI’s.
In the circle was Tori Lemay who struck out 8 of the first 9 batters she faced in the game, finishing with 11 strikeouts in her complete game win. Her strikeout performance today was 5 shy of her tournament record of 16, set back in 2014.
Penn State Brandywine’s three hits came off the bats of Arianna Segich Steph Harvey and Maddie Malfara.
On the mound for the Lady Lions was Olivia Encarnacion who also threw a complete game.
NEXT UP: With the victory, NHTI earns a birth into the semi-final game of the tournament, batting out of the loser’s bracket all week after falling in their opening round game. They will play that game tonight at 6:00 pm against the loser of the 4:00 pm semi-final matchup between #1 St. Mary of the Woods and #2 Carlow University.
FINAL SCORE: #1 St. Mary of the Woods - 4, #2 Carlow University - 4
RECORDS: St. Mary of the Woods (30-6) | Carlow University (29-13)
LOCATION: Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio
IN BRIEF: In a game that featured back and forth action, Carlow scored one in the top of the first, but were quickly answered by a Pomeroy run in the bottom of the inning. St. Mary of the Woods then took a 2-1 lead after the second inning. Carlow tied the game 2-2 in the top of the third, but again St. Mary of the Woods responded with a run to regain the lead, 3-2. After a scoreless fourth, Carlow tied the game, 3-3, with a single run in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Pomeroy’s hit an RBI double to score what would be the game winner, advancing into the championship game by a score of 4-3.
HOW THEY SCORED: Carlow scored in their first at bat on a two out single by Nicole George, scoring Marla Small who was walked to start the game.
St. Mary of the Woods answered in the bottom of the inning on a Sarah Burnham double, scoring Emma Riffe who hit a leadoff single.
In the bottom of the second inning, St. Mary of the Woods took their first lead of the game on a Kindra Gingerich single to center field that scored Kelly Combs who hit a leadoff single in the inning.
Carlow tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the third as leadoff walk and an error by the Pomeroy’s allowed for Small to score on an Allison Hryadil single to left field.
St. Mary of the Woods regained their lead in the bottom of the inning on a Kerri Schrock RBI single.
In the top of the fifth inning, Carlow’s Kenzie Young hit a triple to score Kelsey Geyer, who singled in her at bat, tying the game for the second time this time by a score of 3-3.
The Pomeroy’s, Emma Riffle hit a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth to put a runner on for Marlee Yeager who hit a double off the top of the fence in left center field to score what would eventually be the game winner. Carlow was held to one hit in their final at bat in the seventh as St. Mary of the Wood’s took the 4-3 victory, advancing into the championship game for the second consecutive season.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE: The Pomeroy’s were led offensively by Riffe who went 3 for 4 as well as by Burnham and Yeager who both went 2 for 4 with an RBI.
In the circle was player of the year, Sarah Burnham, who threw the complete game and earning the win. Burnham faced 29 batters, striking out 5.
Carlow had 5 different players contribute hits in the game with the RBI’s coming from Young, Hryadil and George.
Throwing the first half of the game for the Celtics was Danielle Levato who faced 17 batters giving up three runs. She was followed by Nicole Hall who threw the final three innings, facing 14 batters.
NEXT UP: St. Mary of the Wood’s, with the victory, advances into the championship game for the second consecutive year. They will face the winner of the 6:00 pm game tonight between #2 Carlow and #3 NHTI. The USCAA Softball Championship game is slated for tomorrow, May 19th at 12:00 pm.
FINAL SCORE: #2 Carlow University - 6 , #3 NHTI - 2
RECORDS: Carlow University (30-13) | NHTI (28-4)
LOCATION: Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio
IN BRIEF: After a scoreless defensive battle where both teams combined for a total of 5 hits, NHTI got on the board first in the top of the 5th inning. The Lynx were able to score two runs on three hits to take a 2-0 lead. Carlow was quick to answer in the bottom of the inning as their bats came alive, scoring 5 runs on 5 hits as NHTI committed a pair of errors. The Celtics tacked on an insurance run in the sixth to win by a final score of 6-2 and advance into tomorrow’s championship game.
HOW THEY SCORED: In the top of the fifth inning, the NHTI Lynx loaded the bases and scored two runs on a single to right field off of the bat of Hannah Seidner, scoring Stephanie Winsor and Molly Emerson.
Carlow responded in the bottom of the inning by also loading the bases with their first three batters and scored their first run of the game as Kelsey Geyer singled bringing Haley Stedeford across the plate. The next batter, Kenzie Young, followed up with a 2-RBI single, scoring Marla Small and Molly Patsch, to take the lead 3-2. A single by Nicole George to center field would add an additional 2 runs, giving the Celtics a 5-2 lead.
In the sixth inning, Carlow scored an additional run on a Marla Small single.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE: Carlow’s Marla Small was the standout player of the game, going 4 for 4 from the plate with 1 RBI. Kenzie Young and Nicole George tallied 2 RBI’s a piece in route to a victory and a trip to the championship game.
Throwing the complete game win was Jenna Grogan who gave up just 5 hits in her 27 batters faced.
NHTI was led by Hannah Seidner who went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI’s for an average of .471 on the week, leading the team.
Tori Lemay was in the circle and despite an ERA of 1.17, gave up 3 earned runs on 9 hits.
NEXT UP: NHTI finished their tournament week in third place after this evening’s loss. Carlow University advances to the championship game tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 pm to face the defending national champions, St. Mary of the Woods.
