Welcome to the website for Division III Softball - The Newsletter NCAA World Series Website NCAA Regional Site Links Greencastle, IN ... Beverley, MA ... Bloomington, IL ... Ithaca, NY ... Mahwah, NJ ... Salisbury, MD ... Indianola, IA ... Marshall, TX Sunday, May 10, 2009 Wyly's three-run extra-inning bomb lift UT-Tyler to World Series with win over Linfield MARSHAL, TX - Whitney Wyly hit a three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning Sunday to give the American Southwest Conference champion Patriots a thrilling 5-4 win over Linfield College in the championship game of the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship First-Round Tournament at ETBU's Taylor Field. The victory sends UT Tyler (39-8) to its first-ever berth in the NCAA Softball National Championship, while Linfield (39-6) barely missed another trip to the national tourney which it won back in 2007. IN OTHER REGIONAL ACTION: Gustavus Adolphus, the seventh seed in the Simpson Regional, beats Webster, 11-1, for the second time in the regionals to advance. The Gorloks, who were the eight seed, completed the highest ever finish in program history ... Jackie Mangola's grand slam lifted Ohio Northern to the World Series as the Polar Bears ended DePauw's run with a 4-1 victory. The Tigers forced the second championship game as Megan Soulz limited ONU to just one hit in a 4-0 win earlier in the day ... Cortland State avenged its loss to Buffalo State in the SUNYAC championship by eliminating the Bengals, 6-0, in the second championship game. Emily Ringen got the Red Dragons off to a fast start with a three-run first-inning home run. BSU forced the second title tilt with a 6-2 win ... Kelly Waskewicz brought home two unearned runs with two-out RBI single in the second inning as Salisbury defeated Bridewater, 2-1. It was the second Eagle victory Sunday as they stayed alive with a 8-0 victory Emory ... Top-seeded Messiah completed its perfect run through the Ramapo regional with a 6-1 victory over William Paterson ... Tufts continued to breeze through the season as they will bring a 42-1 record into the World Series after winning the Endicott regional, beating Coast Guard 10-1 ... Thursday, May 7, 2009 Webster posts biggest upset of tournament, beats No. 2 St. Thomas In what was slated to be the proverbial battle of David vs. Goliath the Webster University softball team was unfazed. The Gorloks defeated St. Thomas 3-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Regional Tournament. St. Thomas entered the NCAA Tournament as the #2 ranked team in the nation and the #1 seed in the Simpson College Regional. At 39-4 and sporting a .404 batting average (best in the nation), the climb to victory for Webster seemed nearly impossible. Webster, ranked #8 in the regional with a 23-16 record and fresh off a SLIAC Tournament victory, came into the tournament seemingly unfazed by their opponents credentials. Sunday, May 3, 2009 A Little Guess at the Field Pool A (Automatic Berths): Penn State Behrend (AMCC), Texas Tyler (American Southwest), Centennial (Muhlenburg), Illinois Wesleyan (CCIW), Endicott (Commonwealth Coast), Emerson (GNAC), Defiance (Heartland), Coe (IIAC), Rhode Island (Little East), Messiah (MAC Commonwealth), King's (MAC Freedom), Bridgewater State (MASCAC), Alma (Michigan), St. Norbert (Midwest), St. Thomas (Minnesota), Tufts (NESCAC), Springfield (NEWMAC), William Paterson (NJAC), Husson (North Atlantic), Hiram (North Coast), Keuka (North Eastern), Ohio Northern (Ohio Athletic), Lynchburg (Old Dominion), Thomas More (Presidents'), Farmingdale State (Skyline), Redlands (SCIAC), DePauw (SCAC), Webster (St. Louis), Buffalo State (SUNYAC), Christopher Newport (USA South), UW-LaCrosse (WIAC), Staten Island (CUNYAC), Neumann (Colonial States), St. John Fisher (Empire 8), LaGrange (Great South), Linfield (Northwest) Pool B: Salisbury (Capital Athletic), Washington U (UAA), Moravian (Landmark), Rochester (Liberty), St. Scholastica (UMAC) Pool C: (Alphabetical Order) Aurora (Northern Athletics), Central (IIAC), Coast Guard (NEWMAC), Cortland State (SUNYAC), East Texas Baptist (American Southwest), Emory (UAA), Gustavus (Minnesota), Louisiana (American Southwest), Rowan (NJAC), UW-Whitewater (WIAC), Willamette (Northwest) Sunday, April 19, 2009 Salisbury claims CAC championship Kelly Waskewicz and Stacey Malarkey each smacked two-run homers to lead 19th-ranked Salisbury (30-4) to an 8-0 victory over Mary Washington to win the 13th-straight CAC softball championship for the Sea Gulls. Second-seeded UMW (25-16-1) needed 12 innings in the first game Sunday to eliminate third-seeded York (27-12), 2-1. But the Eagles were unable to control the top-seeded Salisbury offense, or score on Sea Gull pitcher Stacey Davis, in the title game. In the title contest, Malarkey sailed a two-out homer to center with Waskewicz on board for a 2-0 Salisbury lead in the first inning. In the second, Waskewicz went a 3-2, 2-out pitch over the left field fence to double Salisbury's lead. Waskewicz, who had two of Salisbury's eight hits, finished the contest with a two-out, two-run double to center in the sixth to clinch the victory. Davis went the distance, improving to 17-2 for the season, by allowing just two hits and one walk while fanning five. IN OTHER NEWS: Top-seeded Christopher Newport defeated Shenandoah to win the USA South tournament. It’s the seventh time in the history of the program that CNU has captured the conference title and the second consecutive championship for the Captains ... Déjà vu was the theme during the Gettysburg College softball doubleheader against Swarthmore College on Saturday as the host Bullets rallied in their last at bat in the opener and the nightcap for a Centennial Conference sweep of the Garnet. Saturday, April 18, 2009 Franciscan gets first Division III victory STEUBENVILLE, OH - The Franciscan University of Steubenville Lady Barons earned their first win in school history when they faced Penn State-Altoona in a home double header on Saturday afternoon. They split the two contests on the day, winning the first, 6-4, and losing the second, 10-2. The Lady Barons’ record now stands at 1-20 overall and hold an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference record of 1-11. Coach Amanda Gutowski mentioned “It was an awesome experience. Our girls have worked extremely hard all season and for some players three seasons for this moment. I am so proud of all our girls.” Gutowski is the first NCAA coach of Franciscan University Softball as they are in their second year of NCAA Provisional Status and first with the AMCC. This also marks Gutowski’s first victory as a collegiate coach. Katie Kirrane was the offensive standout for the Lady Barons in the first game, posting 2 hits, 3 RBIs, and 1 run. Nicole Lancour also had an impressive game with 3 hits and 2 runs scored. Katie Quitney and Bethany Fischer each had a hit and an RBI, while Kourtney Runyan had 2 hits and 1 run and Megan Quinlan contributed 1 hit and 2 runs. Andrea Layton led the Nitty Lions with 1 hit, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored. IN OTHER ACTION:Top-seeded Salisbury (29-4) topped second-seeded Mary Washington to stay in the winner's bracket while York won twice to stay alive in the tournament to highlight Saturday's action at the 2009 CAC Softball Championship Tournament at Salisbury University.No. 19 Salisbury downed UMW 3-0 in the battle of unbeatens in the tournament to advance to Sunday's action. The Sea Gulls can clinch their 13th-straight crown at noon against either York or UMW. If Salisbury loses, the teams will play an "if" game at 2 p.m ... Defiance outscored Hanover College 17-0 on Saturday, sweeping the HCAC doubleheader to move into the conference lead with a 10-2 mark. The Jackets only needed five innings to record the victory in both contests, winning the opener, 8-0, before claiming the finale, 9-0 ...Top seeded Christopher Newport advanced to the USA South Championship against either Shenandoah or North Carolina Wesleyan. Thursday, April 16, 2009 Gersish sets new WIAC RBI record in UW-Whitewater sweep WHITEWATER, WI — No. 7 UW-Whitewater senior Suzanne Gersich, who drove in a run in both games, broke the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference career RBI record as the Warhawks swept a non-conference doubleheader from Lawrence, 10-2 and 7-3. UW-W scored all the runs it would need, four, in the first inning of game one. The Warhawks had just three timely hits, but one run came in on a sacrifice fly, one scored on an error, one crossed after a wild pitch, and Kate McDonnell singled in the fourth run. Gersich tied the WIAC RBI mark held by Jill Schoenike of UW-Eau Claire at 155 with a solo home run in the second inning. That upped her school record to 34 career home runs. Nicole Bothun brought in three more in the third with her second homer of the season, and the Warhawks made it 10-0 with two more in the fourth. Lawrence scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, but the game was stopped after five innings because of the run differential rule. Brittany LeBeau raised her record to 5-1, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out two. Whitewater took the early lead again in game two, with Gersich driving in one with a single in the first, and Bothun following suit in the second. Lauren Cruz hit her team high eighth home run in the third to score two more, making it 4-0. Lawrence cut the margin in half with two in the fourth, but Lauren Rankins got one back for UW-W with a RBI single in the fifth, and Ashley Smith drove home two in the sixth with her second home run of the year. Lawrence ended the scoring with one in the bottom of the sixth. Stacy Bahr 6-1, picked up the win with three innings of one hit, one run relief. The UW-W offense totaled fourteen hits in the game, led by Gersich's 4x4, tying the most hits by a Warhawk in a game this season. IN OTHER ACTION: Hood and York both scored six runs and got strong pitching performances to defend home field in the opening round of the 2009 CAC softball playoffs. It was Hood's first-ever CAC tournament win ... It was yet another walk-off winner for No. 13 Central as freshman designated player Rachel Everingham belted a seventh-inning home run for a 3-2 comeback victory over Augustana College (Ill.) ... Union scored 25 runs in recording a doubleheader sweep of Mount St. Mary's ... Senior pitcher Emily Adams tossed a complete game shutout in game one and freshman hurler Meaghan Kimme went the distance in game two as host Washington College swept a Centennial Conference softball doubleheader from Swarthmore. Wednesday, April 15, 2009 Buffalo State's Hollander wins #500 Rochester opened the scoring one run in the fourth inning and then added four more in the fifth in the opener. The Bengals plated their only run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI by Sara Morse. Buffalo State totaled five base hits by five different players. Jenna Frieling suffered the loss, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. Buffalo
State plated its first three batter of the game in the nightcap, but
then the offense fizzled allowing the Yellowjackets to rally and take a
4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. The Bengals loaded the
bases on a single, an error and a walk, before Joyce hit a one-out
single to drive in the tying and winning runs. Joyce finished the game
3 for 4 with a triple and two RBIs. Marissa Mariano was 1 for 3 with a double and three RBIs. Nicole Sabuda pitched the win, scattering eight hits with three strikeouts and three earned runs. IN OTHER NEWS: Webster's Kelsey Washam was a single shy of the cycle as Webster dropped both ends of a non-conference twinbill to Millikin ... Megan Swingen and Allyse Vander Plaats tossed a combined five-inning no-hitter as the No. 5 Central College softball team subdued Buena Vista Univ. 5-1 and 8-0 Wednesday. The Dutch pitchers allowed just three hits on the day ... Thomas More's Jennifer Weis had seven RBI and Brittany Wegman had two home runs as the Saints swept cross-river rival Mt. St. Joseph ... #11 Tufts remained the lone unbeaten team in Division III with two five-inning victories over Babson ... Christopher Newport had 11 players, including Player of the Year Taylor Morgan, named to the USA South All-Conference team. |