Webber Awaits Southeastern or USCB in Softball Final
Donnie Smith
CLERMONT, Fla.—Runs were hard to come by in the final game of the top of The Sun Conference Softball Tournament bracket.
No. 2 seed Webber International came away with a 2-1 win over No. 1 seed Southeastern, moving the Warriors one win away from the tournament championship, and an automatic berth in the NAIA National Tournament.
The Warriors scored a run in the second on a bases-loaded, two-out error, and took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk.
WIU pitcher Kayla Montgomery started the game with three no-hit innings, and Erika Bellinger allowed two hits and a run over the final four innings.
SEU got its run and both hits in the fifth with Taylor Stoltz bringing in Sammy Jacobson on a fielder’s choice.
Southeastern will face USC Beaufort in Saturday’s elimination-advancement game at noon. The Sand Sharks eliminated Warner 3-0 behind a gem of a pitching appearance by Abby Pac, who allowed three hits over seven innings of work. Alexa Moore was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double.
USCB then faced Ave Maria, which defeated Thomas in the day’s first game 8-5, scoring two runs in each of three innings, and got the leadoff man aboard in six of seven innings. Centerfielder Kingsley Avery was 4-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs.
In a 12-inning thriller, the Sand Sharks came away with the win. An RBI double by Moore in the bottom of the 12
th gave USCB its first and only lead of the game to advance to Saturday’s game. Ave Maria took a 3-1 lead in the top of the 11
th on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, and an RBI groundout.
Errors plagued the Gyrenes in the bottom half of the inning as the Sand Sharks scored three of their own on three errors. Marissa Becker led off the 12
th with a single to short, then was brought in on a double to right-center to end the game.
The winner of the SEU-USCB game at noon will face Webber International at 2:30 p.m. The if necessary game would take place at 5 p.m.