2010 Softball Tournament Champions
SCAD Claims Sun Conference Softball Tournament Crown
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – In a repeat of last year’s The Sun Conference Softball Tournament Finals, the No. 3 seed Savannah College of Art and Design defeated No. 4 seed St. Thomas University 7-1 to claim the 2010 The Sun Conference Softball Tournament title and the conference’s automatic berth to the 2010 NAIA Softball Championships in Decatur, Ala at the Wilson Morgan Softball Complex, May 20-26.
It was a scoreless affair as the Bees and Bobcats traded scoreless innings until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Bees opened it up with a five-run inning highlighted by two-RBI doubles from Jamie Voelkel and Dominica Jordan to give the Bees a 4-0 lead. Krista Ross drove in the fifth run on a RBI single.
The relentless Bobcats responded with a run in the top of the fifth as Tina Diaz drove in Gina Guffanti who got on base earlier in the inning after drawing a walk. Pitcher Kristen Curette would settle in and induce a fly out to left field and struck out the next batter to close the inning.
SCAD scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach and to claim their second consecutive tournament crown. The Bobcats attempted a rally in the seventh as they were able to get two batters on base with only one out but yet again Curette proved dominant and struck out the next two batters to preserve the win.
Curette pitched the complete game to gain her 10th win of the season and Voelkel led the Bees at the plate batting 2-for-3 with three RBI’s and two runs scored.
Earlier in the day No. 1 seed Warner University was eliminated by the Bobcats as the Bobcats defeated the Royals 4-1 to advance to the Championship game versus SCAD.
The Bobcats were first on the board in the first on a RBI double from Jessica Vera. The Royals countered in the top of the second with a RBI double from Brooke Gary to knot the game at one. That would be the only Royal run of the game and their second of the tournament.
The Bobcats grabbed the lead in the bottom of the third thanks to back-to-back RBI doubles from Cindy Castrillon and Vera. Monica Garcia drove in an insurance run in the fourth to give the Bobcats their final lead.
The Royals had an opportunity in the top of the sixth to cut their deficit as they had the bases loaded with two outs but a hit up the middle from Hope Franklin was quickly scooped up by Bobcats’ second baseman Carissa Albizu who stepped on second base to end the inning and escape the scare.
The Bobcats were led at the plate by Vera and Melissa King with two hits apiece and Vera providing two RBI’s.
The Bees now await the Pool Play schedule to be released Monday May 10 to find out who they will play in the National Tournament.