VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (vwuathletics.com) - The No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan softball team defeated the No. 10 Lions from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Saturday evening in exciting fashion to close day two of the 2021 NCAA Regional Tournament. Karlee Fretz hit a 2 RBI single by to defeat the Lions of TCNJ in the bottom of the 8th inning winning 4-3.
GAME RUNDOWN
- A defensive battle between two top-10 teams saw scoreless action through seven innings.
- TCNJ in the top of the eighth took advantage of a few Virginia Wesleyan errors and scored three runs forcing the Marlins hand in the bottom half of the inning.
- After a lead-off groundout, Jessica Goldyn reached base on a double to center field and advanced to third on a hit by Madison Glaubke through the left side.
- Goldyn scored on a single by Julia Sinnett that also advanced Glaubke to third, while Sinnett went to second on the throw to third.
- Glaubke scored and Sinnett advanced to third, two batters later, when Katelyn Biando singled to the pitcher putting the Marlins one run behind the Lions, 3-2.
- Makenzie Watts went in to pinch run while Karlee Fretz pinch hit and Watts swiftly made an attempt to steal second and successfully completed the play.
- Fretz at the plate with runs on second and third, fought off pitch after pitch until her count was full at 3-2 and continued still to fight. After 13 pitches from the TCNJ hurler, Fretz connected with a pitch that went right over the third baseman's head and scored both Sinnett and Watts in a walk-off two RBI single giving VWU the 4-3 win in eight hard fought innings.
COACHES COMMENTS
"The game was extremely well played until the last inning. Hanna was getting tired, she pitched her tail off and was really battling for us. She made a great pitch and just fumbled around a bit and panicked a little bit and the wheels fell off on us. Then we were able to make that big relay play. Emily Seale comes in and gets the strikeout. I went to Hanna and I believed it and said, "We got you, we're going to figure it out, you've picked us up your whole career." These guys just freaking battled and they love each other; they came off and said, "if we're going to go down, let's go down battling.'"
KEY STATS
- Karlee Fretz drove in the game tying and winning runs on a single to shallow left field.
- Hanna Hull threw 7.2 innings giving up three runs on five hits while striking out six of 33 batters faced.
- Emily Seale (W: 20-2) came in relief to pitch the last out against TCNJ struck out her only batter faced.
NEXT
The Marlins will play again at 12 PM on Sunday afternoon against the winner of the elimination game Sunday morning at 10 AM between Gettysburg and No. 10 TCNJ.
