VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR)- Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport enter the NCAA Division III softball tournament with only a combined seven losses between the two programs this season. Thursday both got their national title hopes out to a good start.
Both the Marlins and Captains only needed five innings to roll past their opening NCAA regional opponents, with VWU topping Western New England, 11-1, and CNU cruising to a 12-0 victory over Farmingdale State.
Virginia Wesleyan trailed 1-0 after two innings, but the Marlin bats came alive in the third as the team exploded for nine runs in the frame. Morgan Tucker's three-run triple was the biggest hit of the inning and VWU added two runs in the fourth for good measure. Joslyn Woodard was 2-for-2 on the afternoon with four RBI, while Mackenzie Myers was also 2-for-2 and drove in run.
"We can win not playing great," noted Virginia Wesleyan head coach Brandon Elliott. "Swung the bat, got that one out of the way. You know you're not in an elimination game tomorrow, you get to recover and rest and for some of our younger kids, the opportunity to relax a little bit. I think that's what we need to do."
"It feels a lot better," Tucker added on having the first game out of the way. "It feels like we can play more like ourselves, play with a little bit of slack and just go out there and play some ball."
The Marlins improved to 42-3-1 on the season and will face Swarthmore Friday at 11:00 AM for a spot in the region championship.
Christopher Newport was just as successful and also used a big third frame to pull away and slam the door. The Captains held a 4-0 lead heading into the third, where they added eight runs, fueled by two home runs. Natalie Quinlan kept a deep fly ball down the left field line inside the foul pole for a two-run shot and Simone Thompson added a solo home run to deep center two batters later. Sammy Drew's two-run triple also helped CNU to the big inning.
Keith Parr and company improved to 36-4 on the year and will square off with Randolph-Macon Friday at 11:00 AM. The winner advances to Saturday's region championship.
Both Virginia Wesleyan and Christopher Newport have established themselves as national softball powers. The Captains claimed the national championship in 2022, with VWU winning it all in 2017, 2018 and 2021.
