SALEM, Va. — Sophomore third baseman Brooke Greaver provided the heroics Sunday for the Christopher Newport University softball squad. Leading off the bottom of the ninth inning in a 3-3 tie with Texas Lutheran University, Greaver crushed a 2-0 pitch over the fence in right field to give the Captains their 22nd straight victory.
Keith Parr's team, now 45-1, advances to the best-of-three final series, and will play Trine University of Indiana beginning Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at the Moyer Sports Complex. Sixth-seeded Trine knocked out fifth-seeded Berry College, 5-0, in the second game Sunday following CNU's walk-off victory.
"Nothing gives you a better feeling than walking it off," Greaver said following the dramatic triumph. "I was 0 for 3 so I was thinking about just getting something started and getting the bat on the ball. Going 2-0 in the count, there's no better count for a hitter except maybe 3-1, so I knew the next pitch she was going to bring it...and I got a good swing on the ball and here we are."
The Captains and Bulldogs staged the classic playoff battle on a warm and sunny day with temperatures reaching the mid 80's at Moyer. CNU jumped to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, and TLU stormed back with a run in the fifth and two in the sixth forcing extra frames.
CNU freshman starter Jamie Martin and TLU sophomore starter Sydney Ouellette both were impressive, and the game featured several sparkling defensive plays. The Captains broke through in the third when senior Cailin Abernethy started a two-out rally with a single to center. Senior Bailey Roberts followed with a single to right that was bobbled twice, allowing Abernethy to scamper home with the first run of the game. Senior Kaitlyn Hasty then registered a double down the left field line, moving Roberts to third. Sophomore Katie Currin stepped to the plate and delivered a two-run single up the middle scoring both Roberts and Hasty to give the Captains a 3-0 edge.
Martin allowed just one hit over the first four innings before the Bulldogs got it going in the fifth. Singles by Sarah Metzer, Chassety Raines, and Kelly Jurren put TLU on the board, cutting the Captains lead to 3-1. Martin was relieved by freshman Kate Alger to start the top of the sixth, and the Bulldogs evened things up on a two-run single off the bat of Metzer to tie the game at 3-3.
Alger settled down after her shaky first inning, and ended up retiring the final ten batters she faced ...sending Texas Lutheran down 1-2-3 in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. Alger earned the victory to improve her record to 15-0 on the season. Texas Lutheran, who ended the Captains season last year in the NCAA Regional in Seguin, Texas, finished the campaign with a 45-6 mark.
The game-winning blast was Greaver's ninth home run of the season, and her second walk-off. She smacked a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Salisbury, 4-2, in the first game of a doubleheader at Captains Park on April 20th at Captains Park.
Defensively, Currin made two crucial plays in right field for CNU. She ended a TLU rally in the fifth inning by robbing Madison Johnson of what would have been a three-run home run with a catch at the fence. She had started the inning with a sliding catch to rob Laura Hernandez of a base hit. Senior shortstop Natalie Carmichael also extended into the air to grab a line drive off the bat of Faith Hernandez in the eighth inning.
"That's championship softball," Head Coach Keith Parr said. "They did a great job putting their bats on the ball, and we did a great job defensively. Just what you'd expect in a big game, two great performances."
The Captains will now play the Thunder of Trine once on Monday at 1:30 p.m., and then again on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. If necessary, a third and deciding game for the National Championship would be played at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. CNU and Trine played this year on March 4th in Columbus, Ga., in the Leadoff Classic. The Captains recorded a 5-0 victory in what was Trine's first game of the season, and the first meeting ever of the two programs. Trine University is located in Angola, Indiana, and is a member of the MIAA (Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association).
This will be the Thunder's first trip to the national final series, and the second for the Captains. CNU advanced to the final in 2011, ironically in Salem, and lost twice to Linfield College to finish as the runner-up.
