SALISBURY, Md. -- A slow offensive start put Virginia Wesleyan College's softball Marlins on the chase throughout Thursday's NCAA Division III regional tournament game against Hampton Roads rival Christopher Newport University, which held on to pull out an 8-6 victory on the Salisbury University diamond.
The Marlins (29-10), competing in their first NCAA tournament since 1989, will now face New Jersey's Kean University (16-26) at 10 a.m. on Friday in an elimination game. The Cougars fell 6-1 to Emory University in their opening game on Thursday. CNU (32-10) will take on Emory on Friday.
The Captains, who dropped a doubleheader to VWC earlier this season, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Jennifer Falin (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) ripped a double to score Kelley Foate (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) and Jessie Atkinson (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover). Foate singled to lead off the inning and Atkinson drew a walk to set things up for Falin.
Christopher Newport tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth to open up a 4-0 lead, but Virginia Wesleyan started to spark in the bottom of the inning. The Marlins, who played through three innings without a hit, got things started with a two-out single to left from junior Cheslie Henline (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge). Rookie Tori Higginbotham (Glen Allen, Va./J.R. Tucker) ended the shutout with a booming two-run home run deep of the left centerfield fence.
CNU seemed to take a big step forward with a four-run surge in the fifth inning, but Virginia Wesleyan answered with three scores in the same inning. Leanna Prather (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) led off for the Marlins with a single and moved to second when Brenae Pettit (Onancock, Va./Nandua) boarded via a Captains error. Morgan Stephens (Culpeper, Va./Highland) ripped a single up the middle to score a run, but CNU came up with back-to-back outs to stall the Marlins. Jaclyn Quinn (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) kept things going for VWC when she belted a two-run single to right to pull the Marlins within an 8-5 score.
VWC shut down CNU in the top of the sixth and put the pressure on the Captains again in the bottom of the inning. Higginbotham led off the inning with a double and the Marlins went on to load the bases. But, the damaging hit eluded the Marlins.
CNU managed only a hit in the top of the seventh and endured another challenge by VWC. Brianna Bertovich (Richmond, Va./Monacan) led off with a single and the Marlins eventually loaded the bases on a Henline single and walk to Higginbotham. With bases loaded and two outs, rookie Andrew Shannon (Newville, Pa./Big Spring) hit a sacrifice fly to right to send in a runner and cut the lead to 8-6. But, that's where it ended for Virginia Wesleyan as the Captains came up with the third out to end the game.
CNU finished with a 10-8 edge in hits, led by Chelsea Mitchell (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) with two. Higginbotham and Henline both had two hits for Virginia Wesleyan.
Whitney Haller (Chester, Va./Cosby) took the pitching win for the Captains, improving to 17-4. She struck out four and allowed two walks and seven hits. Krista Townsend (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) earned the save.
MacKenzie Creech (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) tossed in 4.2 innings for VWC, striking out two, walking five and giving up nin hits. Chrissy Crawford (Norfolk, Va./Granby) pitching the final 2.1 innings and shut down the Captains, striking out three, walking one and allowing just one hit.
--AMDG--
