READING, Pa. (May 7, 2017) – Senior
Nicole Burt (Staten Island, N.Y.) hit a game-winning single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth inning to lead the Widener University softball team to a 4-3 victory over Lebanon Valley and its first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth championship in school history on Sunday afternoon at Angelica Park. The Pride, who also beat #7 Messiah by a 9-6 score earlier in the day, punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament for the first time ever.
Burt was also named the MVP of the tournament for her late-inning heroics.
In the championship game, Lebanon Valley (25-15) jumped out to an early lead by plating two runs in the top of the second. Batting with a pair of runners in scoring position, Elaine Gross hit a two-run double to right field to put the Dutchmen ahead.
Widener (26-11), however, came back in the bottom of the third when junior
Taylor Allen (North East, Md.) blasted a double to left center before coming home on a single by senior
Ally Horvath (Chalfont, Pa.). The tying run then came across when catcher Savannah Toth threw the ball away while freshman
Jamie Gosselin (Abington, Pa.) was attempting to steal second, and the Widener freshman was plated for the go-ahead run on an RBI single by junior
Lauren DelRomano (Broomall, Pa.).
Lebanon Valley tied the game in the top of the fifth, but Widener was able to pull ahead again in the bottom of the sixth frame. After sophomore
Liv Rogers (West Chester, Pa.) walked and freshman
Carli Benozich (Drexel Hill, Pa.) singled, Burt took a two-strike pitch up the middle to send in Rogers. Horvath then held the Dutchmen off the scoreboard the rest of the way, which was capped by inducing a groundout to Benozich at short.
Horvath earned her second victory of the day in the circle for Widener and improved her record to 10-3 this spring. She yielded three hits and one run which was earned while striking out two and not issuing a walk over three and two-thirds innings of work. Lebanon Valley's Lexi Windsor went the distance and suffered the loss after surrendering eight hits and four runs. She also recorded seven strikeouts and issued two walks.
Earlier in the day, Widener got off to a hot start by plating four runs in the top of the first inning against nationally-ranked Messiah. Benozich drew a bases-loaded walk on a full count with two outs to plate Gosselin, who singled earlier in the frame, and senior
Liz Antonucci (Nesconset, N.Y.) unleashed a rocket to the power alley in left center to clear the bases.
Messiah (34-7), however, crept back into the game by capitalizing on a messy frame in which the Pride committed two defensive errors. Emily Quatrale came home on a throwing error to put the Falcons on the board, and another error in the infield sent another two runners to the dish. Amanda Jones then singled through the right side to bring her team within one before being gunned down at second by Antonucci.
But despite nearly giving up a huge lead, Widener was able to break the game open again in the top of the fifth. After Horvath came on in relief and got herself out of minor trouble in the circle during the third and fourth frames, junior
Katie Sterling (Middletown, Del.) sliced a single and then came home on a ball hit up the middle by Rogers to make it 6-4.
Five batters later, Horvath ripped a bases-loaded double to score two more and put the Pride back in full control. The team then went up 9-4 when Gosselin hit a ball off the third baseman's glove. Burt was able to reach home safely on the play slightly before Horvath was caught in a rundown between second and third.
Horvath picked up the victory for Widener by hurling five innings of relief. She allowed five hits and two runs, including one earned, while registering two strikeouts. Messiah's Carrie Fix suffered the tough-luck loss after giving up three hits and five unearned runs over one and two-thirds innings of work.
Widener will now wait to see where it is headed for the NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be revealed
here at 1 p.m. EST on Monday, May 8.
