Asbury Wins KIAC Softball Title
Asbury beats IU Southeast after rain Saturday.
Wilmore, Ky. - The Asbury College softball team won their first KIAC Championship, defeating Indiana Southeast 4-2 on Saturday in Wilmore in their first year back after the school went five years without a program. The Eagles defeated Alice Lloyd 9-0 and Brescia 7-1 on Friday to advance to the championship game on Saturday.
Asbury (24-12) fought back from an early 1-0 deficit to beat the Grenadiers for the first time this year. The Eagles fell behind in the bottom of the first on two hits and two errors when Shana Andres singled to center. Asbury would fight back and take the lead in the third. Miranda Drury (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) would double to right center to knock in the first two Eagle runs. Emily Ethington (Lawrenceburg, Ky.) would follow with an RBI double of her own to give Asbury a 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the third.
From that point on Asbury Junior Pitcher Carrie Wilderman (Waubsadt, In.) would hold down any Grenadier rally. Wilderman (17-9) surrendered only five hits and two runs, one earned on the day and struck out five while walking zero. Wilderman got Sara Rose Hornung to line out to second to clinch Asbury's first ever KIAC Championship as well as their first trip to the NAIA National Tournament in Decatur, Alabama May 14-20.
Asbury's 24 wins are the most in school history; the previous high was in 1995 when the team went 17-12. That 1995 team was the first fast pitch team at Asbury and before this year the only fast pitch team to have at least a .500 record. The tournament was shortened to single elimination after rain on Friday night and Saturday morning.
More details on the 2009 NAIA Tournament will be provided as soon as they are announced by the NAIA.