No. 17 Hounds Top Worcester State, 9-1, to Open 2016 NCAA DIII Regional Action
ITHACA, N.Y. --- The No. 17 ranked and second seeded Moravian College softball team opened the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament with a 9-1, five-inning win over third seed Worcester State (Mass.) University in the opening game of the Ithaca, New York Regional hosted by Ithaca College Friday.
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ITHACA, N.Y. --- The No. 17 ranked and second seeded Moravian College softball team opened the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament with a 9-1, five-inning win over third seed Worcester State (Mass.) University in the opening game of the Ithaca, New York Regional hosted by Ithaca College Friday.
The Greyhounds, now 36-4, advance to the winner's bracket game on Saturday, May 14 at 10:00 a.m. against the winner of Friday's second game, the host Bombers which defeated fourth seed Mount Saint Mary College, 1-0. The victory was the 40th in the NCAA Tournament as 23-year Head Coach John Byrne, who is 40-32 in NCAA Tournament action and 749-225 career mark. Friday's win marked the 12th time in 16 trips to the NCAA Regionals that Moravian has won its opening game.
"Obviously getting that first win is important in the NCAAs to get that out of the way," commented Byrne. "We had a few jitters early in the game but we overcame that and settle down. I was happy with the way that things played out."
Senior right fielder Mary Schlosbon and freshman center fielder Kat Spilman were both 3-for-3 for the Greyhounds, who had 11 hits in the victory with Schlosbon scoring four times and Spilman adding two runs and two RBIs. Junior right fielder Julie Siragusa was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs while freshman shortstop Kaela Kane added two RBIs.
"It was a good game, and I'm just doing everything that I can to help my team out," Schlosbon said. "If hitting the ball on the ground in the infield and using my speed to beat them out is what it takes. Whatever I have to do to get on base and help out my teammates."
Sophomore Amanda Carisone had the start in the circle for the Hounds, and she improved to 17-2 with the victory. Carisone allowed just an unearned run on nine hits while striking out four batters.
"We played really well, and I just pitched my game," stated Carisone. "Our defense did really well, and our offense was able to give me some runs early."
The Blue and Grey didn't waste any time in the game, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Schlosbon drew a walk to start the contest and would score on an RBI double to right field by Spilman.
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Moravian extended the lead to 4-0 with a three-run second inning. The inning started with a walk before a double play by the Lancers. Sophomore first baseman Jean Markovic and freshman second baseman Julia DeMarco reached on back-for-back errors before an RBI single by Schlosbon. Kane followed with a two-RBI single to right center for a 4-0 advantage after two innings.
Worcester State took advantage of an error by the Blue & Grey in the top of the third to score a run but Carisone shut the door with a pair of strikeouts and a foul out with the bases loaded to end the threat.
The Hounds would get the run back in the bottom of the third when Spilman led off with a single and scored on an RBI single off of Markovic's bat.
Moravian tacked on three more runs in the home half of the fourth inning to push the lead to 8-1. Schlosbon led off with an infield single before Kane reached on a fielder's choice and Spilman singled to load the bases with one out. Siragusa followed with a two-RBI single into center field. Sophomore catcher Janae Matos finished off the inning with an RBI double down the left field line to score Spilman.
The Greyhounds would score once with one out in the bottom of the fifth for the NCAA eight-run mercy rule to end the game. Schlosbon had another infield single with one out and stole second base. After Kane and freshman third baseman Madison Shaneberger drew walks to load the bases, Spilman lifted a fly ball deep enough into center field to score Schlosbon with the final run on an RBI sacrifice fly.
"It is always important to get the first win because you don't want to dig yourself out of the loser's side of the bracket," noted Byrne. "That is a little tougher because then you are playing with your back against the wall. Now we have a little bit of breathing room but you have to play the games one at a time. Every game is important as the next one. Now the first game is done with, and we're happy it went our way and we're onto to tomorrow.
