Brooke Judy came on in relief to pitch the Yotes' to their first-ever World Series victory Saturday.
NAIA World Series: C of I Season Ends, Yotes Place 14th in NAIA
DECATUR, Ala. -- The College of Idaho saw its 2008 season come to a close along the Tennessee River, as the Lady Yotes split a pair of games at the 28th-Annual NAIA Women's World Series at Wilson Morgan Softball Complex in Decatur, Ala. The Lady Yotes picked up a 6-5 victory over Friends (Kan.) in today's opener, but lost a tough 5-4 decision to No. 10 ranked Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) in the final game of pool play.
The Coyotes (28-20) finished pool play with a 1-3 record, sitting in a three-way tie for 14th-place. Lubbock Christian took home the Pool D crown with a 4-0 record, moving on to bracket play on Monday, as is Trevecca Nazarene, with a 3-1 mark. Olivet Nazarene finished at 2-2, with Friends at 0-4.
Game 3 - C of I 6, Friends 5: Brooke Judy allowed just one earned run in six innings of relief this afternoon, as The C of I picked up their first-ever win at the NAIA Women's World Series, upending Friends (Kan.), 6-5.
The sophomore from Kuna was pressed into action after Region I Pitcher of the Year, Katie Zillner, had to leave the game in the second with an injured thumb on her throwing hand. Judy, who entered the game trailing 2-1, retired eight of the first nine batters she faced - giving the Yotes (28-19) bats a chance to head up.
After Casey Jenson put the Falcons (34-12) up 2-0 in the first with a two-run single, the Yotes would battle back. Kalie Kurdy launched a solo homer in the second, then Donnae Carrell followed an inning later with a two-run homer to give The C of I their first lead of the tournament. They'd make it 4-2 in the fourth when Haley Butcher scored from third on a wild pitch, and then 5-2 in the fifth on a bases loaded single from Dani Villyard.
However, Friends, who brought a 32-game win streak into the tournament, would not go down without a fight. An RBI single from Megan Vinzant and an Allison Bellar sacrifice fly keyed a two-run bottom of the fifth to cut the margin to 5-4. The Yotes would get an RBI infield single from Carrell in the sixth to regain a two-run cushion, but an error by left fielder Nicole Antonoplos allowed Amy Martinez to score from second on a Haley Martin single to make it 6-5. With the tying run at third, Judy buckled down, striking out Amy Sanchez to end the threat.
Carrell went 3-for-4 with three RBI, with Villyard and Kurdy each recording two hits. Kali Taylor had two of the nine hits for the Falcons.
Game 4 - Olivet Nazarene 5, C of I 4: A four-run fourth inning outburst propelled Olivet Nazarene to a 5-4 victory over The C of I in the final game of the 2008 Women's World Series for both teams.
The Lady Yotes jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, taking advantage of a fielding error by the Tigers (54-12) in the first, allowing Zillner to score from third to open the scoring. They'd tack on a pair of runs in the fourth on a two-out, two-run single from Judy.
Unfortunately, tenth-ranked ONU would fight back, as a Abby Meyerhoff two-run single capped the big inning, as the Tigers would never trail again.
The Coyotes would load the bases with one out in the sixth, scoring a run on a Kurdy RBI ground out, but Judy grounded out to end C of I's last real threat.
Zillner had a pair of hits and scored two runs in her final collegiate game, while Villyard added two hits of her own. Kellie Koverman notched the win for ONU, striking out eight batters without a walk.