Posted: May 11, 2012
The Maroons move on to face Christopher Newport at 5:00 PM on Saturday at Captains Park. Emory goes on to face Salisbury in the loser's bracket semi-final game on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Live video will be available HERE.
The last two times that Roanoke and Emory met were in the regional portion of the 2006 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament, as the Eagles took both games from the Maroons. The Maroons are now 6-8 against the Eagles, including a 4-4 mark in the NCAA Tournament. The program also improved to 15-9 against teams from Georgia.
The Eagles found themselves in the driver's seat early as Micah Scharff reached base on an error, followed by a single from Lauren Gorodetsky. A few batters later, Jessica Boni hit a single up the middle that scored Scharff and Gorodetsky, taking the 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
It wasn't until the bottom of the fourth that Roanoke started to shine as Hollee Warlitner and Stephanie Clark led off the inning with singles, putting runners at first and second. After an Emory pitching change, Caitlin Manuel avoided a tag on the first base line to load the bases. However, the Eagles' Lena Brottman struck out the next three Roanoke batters to keep Emory's 2-0 lead intact.
The Maroons caught fire once more in the bottom of the fifth. Leona Rainey reached first after being hit by a pitch. Alea Bier followed suit by reaching base with an infield hit. Warlitner then knocked a first pitch two-bagger, scoring Rainey and Bier, tying the game at 2-2. Roanoke took its first lead of the game when Stephanie Clark drove a ball to left field, scoring Warltner from second. With two outs, Felice Lowery doubled to left, plating Clark to take the 4-2 lead.
That score would hold as the final, as the Maroons tallied the last six outs over the next seven batters to clench the victory.
Warlitner led the Maroons going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored. Clark also had two hits, an RBI, and a run to her credit. Higbie (26-8) pitched her school-record 31st complete game, giving up two runs off four hits. She also struck out four on the afternoon as she broke the ODAC-record for victories in a single-season. Her 26 wins are third in the country while her 122 strikeouts this season are the third-most at RC. Her 38th appearance broke the school single-season record.
Boni led the eagles with two hits and two RBIs. Scharff and Gorodetsky had one run and one hit each in the contest.
The Regional portion of the tournament consists of eight teams in a double-elimination format. To see the Maroons' Regional Bracket, Click HERE
For More information on the NCAA Tournament, click HERE. For more information on the regional tournament at CNU, click HERE
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