Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Allegheny Softball team capped an improbable tournament run with a 3-2 win over Wittenberg that clinched the squad's fourth North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) tournament championship and the first since 2007.
The No. 4 seed entering the tournament, the Gators completed a magical run sparked by two wins on Friday, overcoming a 7-4 loss in the first game against Wittenberg, who eliminated tournament top-seed DePauw in the first game on Saturday, to clinch the title.
Allegheny was led by sophomore pitcher and NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player
Caitlin Nealer, who pitched every inning during the four-game stretch and capped off the championship with a five-hit complete game effort to clinch the title for the Gators. In the tournament, Nealer only allowed four earned runs while striking out 30 batters.
Four Allegheny players made the All-Tournament team, as junior
Maureen Pallone finished with eight RBI over the four games, including a critical single in the second inning of the championship game. Senior
Nicole Rodi was named to the all-tournament team, batting 2-for-3 in the final game and registering two assists, finishing a ninth-inning double-play that erased a lead-off single for the Tigers that placed the tying run on base.
Freshman
Belle Mazurik capped Allegheny's All-Tournament selections after scattering seven hits over four games, adding a pair of stolen bases during the tournament.
First year
Katrina George set the tone for the winner-take-all seventh game of the NCAC tournament with a home run to deep center to give the Gators an early, 1-0 lead in the second inning. Pallone and freshman
Allie Landowski each picked up an RBI to build the lead to 3-0 and Nealer did the rest, withstanding a late Wittenberg rally to clinch the championship.
Seniors
Stephanie Fort and
Sophia Katz each scored for the Gators in the final day of the tournament, as Fort scored twice in the first game of the day against Wittenberg while Katz scored the eventual game-winning run in the fourth of the championship game. Junior
Halea Hayden, sophomore
Sadie Stuart and Nealer each drove in a run during the first game for the Gators.
In the first game, Wittenberg jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second, pushing the lead to 7-0 in the third. Hayden started the rally for the Gators with a triple down the right field line that scored Fort in the bottom of the third, scoring later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Af
ter a scoreless fourth, Nealer retired the Tigers in order during the fifth inning then registered a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame to score Fort. In the seventh, Stuart walked with the bases loaded to cut the Wittenberg lead to 7-4, but the Gators were unable to complete the comeback.
Game two saw Nealer get out of an early jam, settling in after the first inning to retire 10 straight batters heading into the fourth. Nealer kept the Tigers off of the board until a home run to left center in the fifth cut into the Allegheny lead. Adding an additional run in the sixth, the Tigers led off the seventh with a single and threatened to tie the game.
A 3-4-5 double-play eradicated the Wittenberg threat and put the Gators on the verge of the championship. A foul-out pop fly to Rodi ended the game and the tournament.
Allegheny last won the conference tournament title in 2007 with a 2-0 win over Denison. The 2013 title earns Allegheny head coach
Beth Curtiss a tournament championship in her first year on the sidelines and punches Allegheny's ticket to the NCAA Regional Tournament. It also marks the second consecutive year that the Gators have won a NCAC championship, as the team won the regular season title in the 2012 season.
The Gators will learn of their post-season destination on Monday, May 6 at 10 a.m. during the 2013 NCAA Division III Selection Show. For information on the NCAA DIII Championship, including impending details on selection show, click
HERE.
