HATTIESBURG, Miss. – A three-run first inning gave Vanguard University a lead they would not surrender, as the Lions claimed the title of the Hatttiesburg Bracket of the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round tournament with a 5-1 victory over the College of Idaho at Fail Field.
The Lions (46-11), who advance to the NAIA Softball World Series, scored four of their five runs with two outs, with pitcher Courtney Thornhill holding the Coyotes to just three hits on the day.
C of I (40-17) ended their season with a school-record 40 wins.
VU pieced together a first inning rally against Coyote ace
Colette Robert, as Samantha Shaffer lined an RBI single to right to score Cassie Balswick with the opening run. The Lions had runners at second and third with two outs, with Belle Herrera blooping a 2-run single to extend the lead.
The California squad extended the lead to 4-0 in the fifth, as a Herrera squeeze bunt scored pinch runner Jenah Tittle from third.
The Yotes cut into the deficit in their fifth, as
Taylor Eakle singled and pinch runner Micah Fortune scampered home on a gap double from
Hannah McNerney – but Thornhill clamped down, retiring the final nine batters of the game for the victory.
Shaffer and Lindsey Gilmore each had two hits for the Lions, while three different C of I players had one hit apiece. Robert took the loss in her final appearance with the Yotes, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits.
NOTES: C of I has advanced to the Bracket Championship game in all three appearances to the NAIA Opening Round – losing to Concordia-Irvine in 2013 and defeating Oregon Tech in 2014…the Yotes set multiple new single-season records –
Trystin Crofts (73 hits, 21 doubles, 119 total bases),
Haley Loffer (47 runs scored, 32 stolen bases),
Marissa Maddox (54 RBI) – with Robert ending her career with 50 wins and a 1.95 ERA…two other Cascade Conference teams advanced to the NAIA Softball World Series, as Oregon Tech defeated Indiana Wesleyan, 6-0, to win the Marion Bracket and Southern Oregon defeated Hope International, 4-3, to win the Medford Bracket.
