Pomeroys advance to title game of RSC Softball Championship
RSC Sports Information
SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. - St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College posted victories over No. 1 seed Indiana University Southeast and second-seeded University of Rio Grande (Ohio) to earn a spot in the championship final of the 2023 River States Conference Softball Championship following Friday's busy day of action at Little Creek Park.
The Pomeroys (35-14) knocked off IU Southeast, 7-2, in winner's bracket semifinal play before posting a dramatic 4-3 walk-off win over Rio in winner's bracket final.
St. Mary-of-the-Woods - the No. 3 seed out of the league's West Division - will face either IU Southeast or Rio Grande in Saturday's first final of the six-team, double-elimination tournament at 1 p.m. A second final, if needed, would follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first title game.
IU Southeast (32-16) and Rio Grande (35-17) will square off in the loser's bracket final in Saturday's opening game at 10 a.m.
Friday's slate of six games saw four of the contests decided by just one run.
While SMWC was upending IU Southeast in winner's bracket play, Rio Grande held on for a 3-2 win over West Virginia University-Tech. The Golden Bears were then ousted by Point Park (Pa.) University, 5-2, in one elimination game, while IU Southeast rallied in its final at-bat to eliminate Midway (Ky.) University, 5-4.
The final elimination game of the day saw the top-seeded Grenadiers outlast Point Park, 1-0.
Here's a brief recap of each of Friday's games:
St. Mary-of-the-Woods 7, IU Southeast 2
The Pomeroys rallied from an early 1-0 deficit with three fourth inning runs and then added a trio of insurance markers in the seventh inning to nail down a win.
Tori Lee had three hits and drove in a pair of runs for SMWC, while Rylee Pender finished 3-for-3 and Lyric Krause was 2-for-3 with a triple.
Jaselyn Conn and Abbi Henderson also had two hits each in the winning effort, while Summer Rocha earned the victory with a complete game effort in the pitcher's circle.
Taylor Hoggatt was 3-for-3 with a double and a run batted in for the Grenadiers.
Rio Grande 3, WVU-Tech 2
Peyton Young clubbed a two-run double in Rio Grande's three-run third inning and the RedStorm held on down the stretch.
WVU-Tech sliced the deficit to one thanks to a two-run single in the fifth inning by Hailea Skeens, but couldn't get any closer.
Sydney Campolo allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out six in a complete game effort for Rio.
Kayla Sedgwick added a double for the RedStorm.
Nicole Kester had two hits in the loss for the Golden Bears.
Point Park 5, WVU-Tech 2
Point Park scored twice in both the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for the win.
Jada Simon hit a two-run home run - the first over-the-fence homer of the tourney - to give the Pioneers a 3-0 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Golden Bears scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to an RBI triple by Nicole Kester and a run-scoring hit by Macy Wilkens to make it 3-2.
Point Park added much-needed insurance in the seventh thanks to an RBI triple by Melanie Taylor and a run-scoring groundout by Cameron Meier.
Taylor finished 3-for-4 in the victory for PPU, while Angalee Beall scattered five hits in a complete game effort in the circle.
Courtney Miles had two hits in the loss for the Golden Bears, who finished their season at 24-27.
IU Southeast 5, Midway 4
Cassi Roman led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a solo home run to give the Grenadiers a dramatic, come-from-behind triumph.
Madison Ludwig had a two-run, ground-rule double to highlight a four-run third inning for Midway, but IU Southeast sliced the deficit in half in the bottom of the frame on an inside-the-park home run by Issy Wright and a run-scoring hit by Erin Templeman.
The Grenadiers then erased the early deficit completely in the fifth thanks to a two-run triple by Macie Zink, setting up the dramatic finish.
Roman, Wright and Zink were among five IUS players who finished with two hits each. Kendall Brown and Katie Templeman completed the list.
The Eagles (27-19) managed just five hits in the loss.
St. Mary-of-the-Woods 4, Rio Grande 3
Jazmine Kinzer's pinch-hit single in the bottom of the seventh inning scored pinch-runner Abbi Henderson from second base and capped a two-out rally which sent the Pomeroys into Saturday's championship.
Peyton Young gave Rio Grande a 1-0 lead in the fourth with an RBI single, but SMWC tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Lyric Krause and took the lead in the fifth on a run-scoring squeeze bunt by Rylee Pender.
The RedStorm tied the game again in the sixth inning on a fielder's choice grounder to shortstop by Lexi Carnahan, but the Pomeroys regained the lead in the bottom of the frame thanks to a sacrifice fly by Jaleigh Crawford.
The pendelum swung back in favor of the RedStorm - albeit briefly - when a two-out, two-strike single to left by Caitlyn Brisker in the top of the seventh plated Kayla Sedgwick with the tying run.
The Pomeroys countered with their game-winning rally in the bottom of the inning.
After the first two batters were retired routinely, Mikayla Mills singled to right and Henderson was summoned off the bench to run. Pender followed with an apparent inning-ending popup to the middle of the infield, but Brisker was unable to reach around Henderson - who was standing on the second base bag - and the ball fell untouched for an infield hit.
Kinzer came on to pinch-hit and delivered the game-winning hit to left-center, as Henderson beat the throw home.
Young finished 2-for-3 for Rio Grande, while Gabby Adams also had two hits - including a double - in a losing cause.
IU Southeast 1, Point Park 0
Erin Templeman's fourth inning solo home run provided what proved to be the game's lone run, although the Grenadiers had to survive some heart-stopping moments in the bottom of the seventh as the Pioneers tried to mount a game-winning rally.
IUS pitcher Madison Wathen allowed just one hit and no walks through the first six innings, but the Pioneers loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh thanks to a leadoff hit by Alex Bondi, a wild pitch, a single by Jada Simon and a walk to Sydnie Reese.
Wathen rebounded, though, by striking out each of the next two batters she faced and then inducing Remi Koi to hit into a game-ending fielder's choice grounder to shortstop.
Both teams had just five hits as Wathen outdueled Simon in the pitcher's circle.
Kendall Brown was 2-for-3 with a triple for IU Southeast.
Simon and Melanie Taylor had two hits each for Point Park, which closed its season at 22-18.
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