USCAA Softball Championship Day One Recaps

AKRON, Ohio - The 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships kicked off day one of action at Firestone Stadium with opening round action between Ave Maria University and Penn State Mont Alto. 

Game recaps for each game will be updated throughout the day.

10:00 a.m. - Firestone Stadium, Opening Round

#7 Ave Maria University - 8  vs. #10 Penn State Mont Alto - 7 (8 innings)

In the opening game of the tournament, 7-seed Ave Maria University edged 10-seed Penn State Mont Alto, 8-7, in extra innings to advance to the second round against 2-seed Carlow University. Ave Maria used a walk-off hit from Sarah Vinci to help Beth Vaccarezza pick up the win in relief.

Mont Alto jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the third, as Jenna Rhodes and Kiera Fleagle smacked run scoring doubles. Pitcher Kristyan Gates also singled home a run to help her own cause as the Lions took the early lead.

Ave Maria's Sarah Vinci broke up Gates' perfect game in the bottom of the fifth with a single, and would later score on a groundout by Brandi Griswold to make it 4-1. Mont Alto added another run in the top of the sixth, and entered the seventh with a 5-1 advantage.

But the Gyrenes would answer, using a four run bottom of the seventh inning to tie the score at 5-5 to send the game to extras. Beth Vaccarezza had an RBI single, followed by a suicide squeeze bunt by pinch hitter Sarah Dowdy. Janet Holtfreter followed with a sacrifice bunt of her own, which scored Vaccarezza before Caitlin Constance tied the score with a sacrifice fly to right to score Griswold.

Using the tiebreaker, starting with a runner on second, Mont Alto scored two runs in the top of the eighth with the help of a Gyrenes' error. But for the second time in as many innings, Ave Maria would answer, as a fielder's choice and an error helped the Gyrenes tie the score at 7-7. Vinci would again come up big, crushing a double to deep left to score Marlie Braddy and give Ave Maria the walk off win.

Gates finished with four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits. The Lions had knocked out Ave Maria starting pitcher Emily Lemin in the top of the third, but Vaccarezza would allow three more runs on four hits over the final 5 1/3 innings to pick up her first win of the championships.

Ave Maria will meet Carlow at 8:00 p.m. at Firestone Stadium later on Monday. Mont Alto will play in the consolation bracket at 6:00 p.m. on the Pony Field at Firestone Stadium.

12:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium, Opening Round

#8 Penn State Beaver - 11, #9 Virginia University-Lynchburg - 3

Number eight-seed Penn State Beaver advanced with an 11-3 win over number nine-seed Virginia University-Lynchburg in the opening round of the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships.

The Lions used a seven-run fourth to grab a 10-2 lead and would end the game an inning later. Beaver's Kori Freyermuth picked up the win, going all five innings while surrendering three runs on five hits and striking out five. 

Beaver took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but VUL answered with two runs in the top of the third. Freyermuth would then tie the game with an RBI single, eventually scoring on a single by Sidney Brinton to give the Lions the lead for good. 

The gates then opened in the fourth, as Beaver used five hits and three VUL errors to take their first eight-run lead of the day. Freyermuth had an RBI double and Brinton added another RBI single during the inning, as the Lions entered the fifth with an opportunity to close out the game. 

VUL answered with a run of their own in the top half of the fifth to force Beaver to bat, but the Lions used another VUL error to go ahead 11-3 and complete the first round win. Freyermuth finished with a game-high three RBIs while picking up the win in the circle.

Beaver advances to play top seed Briarcliffe College at 6:00 p.m. at Firestone Stadium's main field. VUL will play in the loser's bracket at 8:00 p.m. on the Pony Field at Firestone Stadium.

2:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium, Second Round

#6 Lindenwood University-Belleville - 5, #3 WVU Tech - 4

Lindenwood University-Belleville squandered a four-run lead, but would go on to beat three-seed WVU Tech 5-4 in second round action of the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships. The sixth-seeded Lynx advance to the winner's bracket semifinals on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. where they will face the winner of Carlow and Ave Maria.

Lindenwood jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first following a lead-off walk and two consecutive singles to load the bases. Samantha Pacheco, who finished with a game-high four RBIs, then hit a line drive to centerfield, and two runs would score on a fielding error. WVU Tech would stop the rally there, but Lindenwood would continue to add to their lead in the third.

With two outs, Meghan Rumley singled and Pacheco gave the Lynx a 4-0 lead a long home run over the left field fence, the first of the tournament. WVU Tech would hold Lindenwood in check the rest of the way, at least until the seventh inning, as they made their comeback.

The Golden Bears rallied for one run in each of the third and fourth innings, but made their biggest impact in the fifth. Genna Trippett doubled, and after being sacrificed to third, would score on a Megan Blythe single. Following another single and a fly out, Stephanie Nickell smacked an RBI single to tie the score at 4-4.

After a scoreless sixth, Lindenwood would jump ahead again as Marquis Lozoya singled and stole second. Pacheco singled home the go ahead run, and Lynx pitcher Stephanie Holiday put away WVU Tech's four-five-six batters in order to seal the win. Holiday would finish the complete game with only one strikeout, while giving up 10 hits throughout, but was effective in limiting the Golden Bears' scoring chances. 

Taylor Norman took the loss for the Golden Bears, going three innings in relief. WVU Tech will face Penn State Mont Alto at 6:00 p.m. in the loser's bracket at the Firestone Stadium Pony Field.

4:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium, Second Round

#4 Iowa Wesleyan - 5, #5 St. Mary of the Woods - 4 (9 innings)

Ayla Serrano smacked a walk-off single up the middle between pitcher Dannielle Owens' legs, scoring teammate Ashley Stube, as Iowa Wesleyan escaped with a 5-4 extra inning win over five-seed St. Mary of the Woods. Stube had just doubled in the bottom of the ninth to score Sonja Holmes, who started at second base to begin the inning in the international tiebreaker, tying the score at 4-4 at Firestone Stadium in the quarterfinals of the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships. 

Iowa Wesleyan advances to the winner's bracket semifinals on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. where they will face the winner of the Penn State Beaver and Briarcliffe game. St. Mary of the Woods moves into the loser's bracket to face Virginia University-Lynchburg at 8:00 p.m. on Monday night.

Holmes pitched a complete game for the Tigers, striking out four and scattering 10 hits over nine innings. Her teammates staked her to an early 2-0 lead, as the Tigers posted two runs on five hits in the first inning. The damage could have been more, but Dannielle Owens pitched her way out of a bases loaded jam to keep her team close.

St. Mary of the Woods would enter the scoring column in the third, as clean-up batter Shelby Turner crushed a two-run double to tie the score at 2-2. The Pomeroys took their first lead two innings later, as Carly Painter got intentionally caught in a rundown to help score teammate Shelby Barnett for a 3-2 lead.

Iowa Wesleyan would tie the game at three apiece in the bottom of the sixth, as a leadoff triple by Andrea Bury immediately gave the Tigers a threat. She would score three batters later on an error by Owens, sending the game to extra innings after a scoreless seventh. 

Neither team could capitalize on the tiebreaker advantage of placing a runner on second base to start the extra innings in the eighth, but the Pomeroys were able to push across a run in the ninth with a single by Rebecca Latta to make it 4-3.

However, Iowa Wesleyan answered as Stube doubled home Holmes and Serrano earned the second walk-off hit in the tournament.

6:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium Pony Field, Loser's Bracket First Round

#3 WVU Tech - 11, #10 Penn State Mont Alto - 5

Three-seed WVU Tech used strong offenseive innings in the third and fourth to take control and cruise to an 11-5 win over ten-seed Penn State Mont Alto in the first round of the loser's bracket. Mont Alto will play for ninth place on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at the Firestone Stadium Pony Field and WVU Tech advances to meet the loser of the Penn State Beaver/Briarcliffe game.

The Golden Bears received 10 RBIs from four players, inlcuding Megan Blythe's four RBI performance, as she had back-to-back two-run singles in the third and fourth innings. Ali Holmes, Genna Trippett, and Kat Lively each added two RBIs, including Lively's two-run homer in the bottom of the second.

Jacki Wood picked up the win for WVU Tech, going three innings in relief of starter Bridgett Goss, who went three innings and gave up three earned runs. 

Penn State Mont Alto was led by Kristyan Gates with three RBIs, including a solo home run to lead off the top of the second. The Lions will meet the loser of Virginia University-Lynchburg/St. Mary of the Woods.

6:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium, Second Round

#1 Briarcliffe College - 3, #8 Penn State Beaver - 1

Penn State Beaver staked claim to a 1-0 lead in the first inning off of top-seeded Briarcliffe starter Jillian McGovern, but the Bulldogs settled in and grabbed a 3-1 win over the eighth-seeded Lions to advance to the winner's bracket semifinals in the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships.

McGovern surrendered three consecutive one-out hits in the top of the first, including an RBI single from Sidney Brinton to grab the lead for Beaver, before calming herself and retiring 18 of the next 21 batters. The Lions mustered only two hits after the first inning, including a one-out triple by Nicole Bowersox in the third, but could not push across the run.

Meanwhile, Briarcliffe took their first and final lead in the bottom of the third on one swing. Lyndsay Coppola smacked a two-run double to deep left field to score McGovern and Emily Mazzaro for a 2-1 advantage. 

Briarcliffe added an insurance run in the sixth as Raina Bunai took an outside pitch over the right-center field fence for a solo home run and a 3-1 Bulldog lead. Bunai finished 2-for-3 on the day, matching McGovern's 2-for-3 effort. McGovern had two RBIs and a run scored while pitching a complete game in the lowest scoring game of the tournament to date. She struck out five while scattering five hits and walking none in seven innings of work.

Beaver's Korey Freyermuth nearly matched her foe on the mound, giving up three runs on eight hits in a complete game loss. Freyermuth walked only one, but did not record a strikeout--however, her teammates played flawless defense behind her, not commiting an error in 27 chances.

Briarcliffe will meet four-seed Iowa Wesleyan at 10:00 a.m. at Firestone Stadium on Tuesday, while Beaver meets three-seed WVU Tech in the loser's bracket second round at 10:00 a.m. at the Firestone Stadium Pony Field.

8:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium Pony Field, Loser's Bracket First Round

#5 St. Mary of the Woods - 12, #9 Virginia University-Lynchburg - 1

St. Mary of the Woods took advantage of a sloppy Virginia University-Lynchburg defense and grabbed a 12-1 win in the loser's bracket of the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships.

The Pomeroys hammered out nine hits en route to the five inning win, improving to 1-1 on the week and dropping VUL to 0-2. The Dragons will play Penn State Mont Alto at 2:00 p.m. on the Pony Field in the ninth place game, while St. Mary of the Woods awaits the loser of Carlow/Ave Maria.

St. Mary of the Woods took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, then added two more runs in the third to make it 5-0. Another five runs in the fourth gave the Pomeroys a 10-0 advantage before VUL could manage a run in the bottom of the fourth. Two runs in the fifth gave St. Mary of the Woods an 11-run lead and the win after five.

Seven Pomeroy players had at least one RBI, as Shelby Turner and Kelsey Rosselli led the charge with two apiece. Jennifer Faker picked up the win for St. Mary of the Woods, topping Kayln Weibel who took her second loss in as many games for the Dragons. Faker struck out 11 of the 18 batters she faced, retiring the first nine batters she faced before walking the leadoff batter in the fourth.

St. Mary of the Woods plays on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. on the Pony Field for a chance to advance in the loser's bracket. 

8:00 p.m. - Firestone Stadium, Second Round

#2 Carlow University - 12, #7 Ave Maria University - 2

Carlow University jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back against seven-seed Ave Maria in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 USCAA Softball National Championships. The second-seeded Celtics added six more in the fourth en route to a 12-2 five-inning victory over the Gyrenes, who will meet St. Mary of the Woods in the loser's bracket on Tuesday at 12:00 p.m. on the Pony Field.

Emily Pritts was the beneficiary of the Celtics run support, who cracked 16 hits on the night. Pritts earned her first win of the tournament with a three-hit complete game, striking out and walked four. Both Ave Maria runs were unearned.

Six Carlow players notched two hits on the day, and seven added an RBI. Kaysie Young led the way with three RBIs, while Dana Hipple added two hits and two RBIs. Every Celtic starter finished with a hit.

The action began in the first, as Carlow had seven straight hits after Ave Maria starter Beth Vaccarezza retired the first two batters of the inning. The Gyrenes got on the board in the third after Jessenia Gonzalez doubled and eventually scored on a Celtics error.

Carlow answered with a run of their own, and would add six more in the fourth. Young had a two-run double, and Meghan Dulaney followed with a run scoring double of her own. Ave Maria would tack on one run in the top of the fifth, but it was not enough to extend the game as the Celtics advanced to the semifinal round against six-seed Lindenwood University-Belleville at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Firestone Stadium.