#21 Softball Falls to Piedmont (GA) in NCAA DIII Regionals to End Its Season
The Piedmont (GA) College softball team posted a 7-1 victory over 21st-ranked Moravian College in the final elimination game at the 2011 NCAA Division III Cortland Regional in a contest that took over 25 hours to complete due to weather.
The Piedmont (GA) College softball team posted a 7-1 victory over 21st-ranked Moravian College in the final elimination game at the 2011 NCAA Division III Cortland Regional in a contest that took over 25 hours to complete due to weather.
The second seeded Greyhounds finish their season at 37-9 after losing back-to-back games for the first time this season while fourth seeded Piedmont advances to the Regional final against host and top seed SUNY Cortland at 3:15 p.m. Monday. The Lady Lions will need to win twice to advance to the 2011 NCAA Division III College World Series that begins on
Friday, May 20th while the Red Dragons will need just one win to advance.
When the game started on Sunday, Piedmont jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Shortstop Megan McClain led off the game with a bunt single, and after an out, outfielder Raley White hit a single. Catcher Emily Cheek then connected on a three-run homer down the left field line, her seventh homer of the season. Pitcher B.J. Cofer followed with a double, and Cofer would score on an RBI sacrifice fly by third baseman Jamie Dennis.
Moravian would get run in the bottom of the second to cut the lead to 4-1. Freshman Cassie Ernst, pictured at top right, led off with a single and scored on a one-out RBI double by senior Amanda Paulus. The hit by Paulus gave Moravian's three seniors – Paulus (120), Maura Agnew (108) and Stephanie Falzarano (172) – a combined total of 400 career hits.
Piedmont got the run back in the top of the third to push the lead to 5-1 when outfielder Taylor Morgan led off with a double and scored on an RBI single by Dennis.
The Lady Lions added a run in the top of the fifth inning for a 6-1 lead. White and Cheek drew back-to-back walks and after a wild pitch, Cofer had an RBI ground out to score White.
In the bottom half of the fifth, sophomore outfielder Samantha Mulderig tripled with two outs for the Greyhounds but was stranded there.
Heading into the top of the sixth inning at 2:18 p.m. on Sunday, the game was put into a rain delay. After two hours, the game was suspended until Monday at 10:00 a.m. but then delayed by more weather.
After a rain delay of 23 hours and 48 minutes, the game resumed at 2:06 p.m. Monday.
Piedmont would score in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 7-1 when second baseman Rebecca Renfroe was hit by a pitch with one out and scored on a two-out single by McClain.
In Moravian's half of the sixth, sophomore third baseman Shannen Mohr led off with a single but was stranded at second base.
Neither team mounted a threat in the seventh.
Piedmont finished the game with a 7-5 edge in hits McClain going two-for-four with an RBI and a run. Cheek was one-for-one with three RBIs on her home run Sunday. Mohr was one-for-three for the Greyhounds to extend her hitting streak to nine games, and Mohr has hit safely in 25 of her last 26 games with an official at-bat. Mohr, Ernst and Falzarano were named to the Regional All-Tournament Team.
Cofer picked up the win for the Lady Lions in the circle, allowing a run on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts in the complete game.
The Greyhounds used three pitchers with sophomore Alyssa Fegely taking the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in a third of an inning. Freshman Elizabeth Tillou tossed 4 2/3 innings until the rain delay, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout. Junior Jenna Carmon tossed the final two innings after the rain delay Monday, allowing a run on a hit and three runs.
