The #1 Seed Virginia Wesleyan University softball team (42-3-1, 21-1 ODAC) defeated the #4 Seed Western New England 11-1 in game one of the NCAA Regional Tournament Hosted by Virginia Wesleyan.
Morgan Tucker had a good day going 1-for-3 with a triple, scored one run, and had three RBI that ties the school record for RBI's in a single-season,
Mackenzie Myers swung the bat well going 2-for-2 with a double, scored two runs, and had one RBI, and
Joslyn Woodard came in later in the game and went 2-for-2 and tallied a team-high four RBI.
It was a slow start for the Virginia Wesleyan Marlins in the early going of their matchup, as the top of the third inning saw the visitors break onto the scoreboard first. Angelees Carrasquillo was hit by a pitch to give the opposing team a base runner. Riley Kane followed with a sharply hit double down the left field line, bringing Carrasquillo around to score the game's first run and giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Virginia Wesleyan wasted no time responding in the bottom of the third.
Haley Sadler reached on a throwing error by the shortstop and advanced to second, prompting
Riley Curtice to enter as a pinch runner.
Alexis Hudgens laid down a beautiful bunt single to move Curtice to third, and chaos followed when Hudgens stole second and the catcher's throw sailed wild, allowing Curtice to score and tie the game at 1-1.
Sarah Prosser then delivered a clutch single up the middle, scoring Hudgens and giving the Marlins their first lead at 2-1. The momentum continued when
Julia Piotrowski walked and both she and Prosser advanced on a wild pitch. After another walk to
Laci Campbell,
Morgan Tucker stepped to the plate and unloaded a bases-clearing triple, driving in three more runs and extending the lead to 5-1. The onslaught continued as
Mackenzie Myers ripped an RBI double to score Tucker, followed by
Samantha Deitsch's single down the left field line, which pushed Myers to third. Deitsch stole second, and another errant throw from the catcher allowed Myers to cross the plate, pushing the lead to 7-1. After a pitching change by the visitors,
Olivia Knight walked, and
Mirandah Jenkins came in to pinch run. Jenkins stole second and then
Joslyn Woodard, pinch hit for Curtice, delivered again with a two-run single, capping off a massive inning with the Marlins ahead 9-1.
The offense didn't stop there. Myers lined a single to left and later advanced to second on a passed ball. An error by the third baseman on Deitsch's grounder put runners on first and second, and Jenkins worked a walk to put runners at every bag. With two outs, Woodard came through once more, roping a single into right center to score both Myers and Deitsch, bringing the score to 11-1 in favor of Virginia Wesleyan.
