MONTGOMERY, Ala.- Berry Softball held on for two and half games in today's regional, to win three and advance to the super regionals.
Game One (Berry 5 - Transylvania 0)
Continuing their paused game from yesterday due to inclement weather, the Vikings held on to their 4-0 lead to push out the Pioneers and head to the Championship series.
The second inning played a big part in the success of Berry with four runs sponsored by singles from
Katie White and
Lauren Cothern, a
Morgan Frye double and an error from Transylvania.
Berry would only put up one more run in the third before
Danielle Sudick, the tournament MVP held off the Pioneers by only allowing two hits the entire game.
Game Two (Berry 7 - Maryville 6)
There was a quick turnaround after surviving and advancing from the first game. Now the Vikings had to take on the four seeded Scots who were undefeated in the Regional.
First baseman
Morgan Frye stepped up to handle business with a solo homerun to keep the momentum on the Vikings side and take the early lead in the first.
Maryville bounced back, putting up a fight a taking the one run lead themselves in the bottom of the inning with starting pitcher
Casey Holloway in the circle.
However, the Vikings were unphased and handled business in the fourth and fifth offensively. It all started with a two run double from
Anna Jackson to take back the Berry lead and spark some energy.
Katie Parker tabbed in an RBI of her own and extended that lead to 4-2.
Lauren Cothern outshined in the fifth as she stepped up to the plate to nail a three run homerun that smacked the top of the scoreboard!
Now up 7-2, the Vikings were sitting pretty, but Maryville attempted to make a comeback in the sixth and show why they are a dangerous tournament team.
Bringing it within two runs at 7-5,
Hannah Gore came to the circle for Berry in a save situation, and she did just that.
In a tough spot, the Vikings season was on the line. With bases loaded and one out, the Scots were hit by a pitch to bring the game within one run. Frye showed her softball IQ on the next play when a grounder came her way as she threw it to Jackson behind the plate to stop the run from scoring!
Gore handled the third out, striking out the final batter and pushing for a game three.
Game Three (Berry 11 - Maryville 0)
After fighting from behind the entire Regional, the Vikings showed out for the fans in game three.
The star of the show defensively was
Danielle Sudick, the tournament MVP as mentioned earlier. Sudick through a PERFECT five innings with four strikeouts.
At the plate, the Vikings could not be stopped. They scored in every inning except the second and the first run was off a wild pitch as lead off batter
Katie White strutted across the plate.
A seven-run third inning sealed the deal and took away any life that the Scots had. With seven hits in the third,
Shelby Daniel brought across the first run after a single.Â
Anna Jackson had another big performance, this time sailing the ball over the fence for a three-run homerun to capture a 7-0 advantage!
To finalize the huge inning
Elly Bennett doubled and
Sydney Moroney singled to bring in more Viking runs.
Jackson again headlined in the fourth with a huge double to score another run and show why she is the "RBI Queen" and ranked in the nation in that category.
Third baseman
Katie Parker's sacrifice fly topped off the Vikings runs at 11 as they headed to the top of the fifth only needing three outs to run-rule the Scots and capture the 2024 Regional Title.
Berry did just that and proved why they are the #6 team in NCAA Division III.
After the game, the following players were named to the all-tournament team:
Sydney Moroney
Morgan Frye
Lauren Cothern
Shelby Daniel
Danielle Sudick - MVP
Viking Press Conference post championship can be found
here.
This win keeps the Vikings dancing to Super Regionals, more information to come.
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