TSC Softball Championship - Day Two Recap
CLERMONT, Fla. – With five more games completed Friday, only two teams remain at the 2018 Sun Conference Softball Championship Tournament at Legends Way Ball Fields at PFX Athletics on Wednesday.
No. 1 seed Thomas and no. 4 seed USCB will meet in Saturday’s championship round after each team advanced through Saturday’s action.
Game Recaps:
Game 5: No. 4 USCB 2, No. 5 Warner 0
No. 4 seed USCB defeated fifth seed Warner 2-0 in the first elimination game of the day. The win advanced USCB to game seven, while eliminating the Royals.
Starting pitcher Abby Pac (17-10) went seven complete shutout innings, allowing just three hits en route to the victory. Offensively, Rachel Frankhouser drove in two runs in the second inning to provide the game’s only scoring.
Game 6: No. 6 Keiser 4, No. 5 Webber International 1
No. 6 seed Keiser took care of business to stay alive with a 4-1 win over Webber International in the second elimination game of the day. The win sent Keiser to game eight to eventually face USCB while eliminating the Warriors.
The trio of Paige Boyle, Rylee Agnew and Autumn Green once combined for an effective game pitching for the Seahwaks. Boyle started and went two shutout innings, allowing one hit. Agnew (6-5) earned the win after pitching the third and fourth innings, while Green earned her third save of the year after pitching three shutout innings allowing just one hit. Offensively, Larissa Ostrander went 2-for-3, while Janelle Dominguez provided an RBI triple to pace the Seahawks.
Game 7: No. 1 Thomas 2, No. 2 Southeastern 0
In a battle between the tournament’s top two seeds, Thomas defeated Southeastern 2-0 to advance to Saturday’s championship round. With the loss, Southeastern was forced to play a second game on Friday night.
The Night Hawks rode the arm of Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year Lauren West who pitched a complete game shutout allowing just three hits.
Thomas hit back-to-back triples in the first inning to provide the game’s only scoring. With two outs, Kaitlyn Stoltz hit a triple then scored on the subsequent at bat as Gaby Mora hit an RBI triple. Mora then scored on the following at bat on a wild pitch.
Neither team scored in the rest of the contest as West and SEU starter Hannah Bodenhorn dueled on the mound.
Game 8: No. 4 USCB 8, No. 6 Keiser 2
No. 4 seed USCB outslugged no. 6 Keiser to stay alive in the tournament while eliminating the Seahawks.
Taylor Boykin and Kayla Boyle led the Sand Sharks at the plate. Boykin went 3-for-3 game with two runs scored and an RBI. Boyle was 3-for-4 with four RBI and a triple.
Abby Pac earned another win as she went seven complete innings allowing two runs on six hits to improve to 18-10 on the season.
Keiser led 1-0 and later led 2-1 until the Sand Sharks blew the game open with three runs in the third and two runs in fourth.
Game 9: No. 4 USCB 8, No. 2 Southeastern 0 (5 innings)
Playing in back-to-back games, the fourth seeded Sand Sharks ran away with the final elimination game of the night. USCB advanced to Saturday’s championship round to face Thomas, while Southeastern was eliminated.
USCB used a four run fourth inning, then added three runs in the fifth to set up the run-rule situation. Maria Molloseau (8-7) earned the win with five shutout innings allowing just three hits. Rachel Frankhouser, Kaitlyn O’Hearn, and Canyon Crosby all recorded multiple hits for the Sand Sharks to lead the USCB blitzkrieg.
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