St. Xavier (Ill.) Wins Concordia (Ore.) Bracket of NAIA Opening Round with 10-2 Win over Corban
TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS
PORTLAND, Ore.—The 10th-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.) Cougars came back from an extra-inning loss to the 11th-ranked Corban Warriors in the first game of the Concordia (Ore.) Bracket of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round at Delta Park Wednesday to beat the Warriors 10-2 win in five innings in the second game, and punch their ticket to the final site of the NAIA Softball National Championships in Columbus, Ga.
The Warriors beat the Cougars 10-7 in eight innings in the first game of the day, but the Cougars took an early lead in the second game that they would not relinquish en route to the decisive victory.
The Warriors will now learn their seeding at the final site of the NAIA National Championships when the national office announces the bracket later Wednesday.
Game 6—Corban 10, Saint Xavier 7 (8 inn.) -- BOX SCORE
The Warriors broke a 7-7 tie with three runs in the top of the eight to beat Saint Xavier in the first game Wednesday, after the Cougars had mounted a dramatic comeback to tie the game late.
Corban had led 7-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but the Cougars scored three runs in the inning to cut the Warriors’ lead to one at 7-6. The Cougars then tied things with a run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.
NAIA career home run leader Stephanie Nippert, however, led the Warriors off in the top of the eighth with—what else—a solo home run that tucked just inside the left-field foul pole. The home run was Nippert’s second in the game and gave the Warriors a crucial 8-7 lead. The Warriors did not stop after Nippert’s home run, either, as the team rallied for two more runs with two outs in the eighth. Three straight walks loaded the bases for Kyrianna Sorensen, who then laced a single to right field to plate the Warriors’ other two runs in the inning.
Sorensen’s single put the Warriors up 10-7 heading into the bottom of the eighth, and the Cougars could not muster another comeback in the game, going down in order to give the first game to the Warriors.
The Warriors’ power led them to an early lead in the game, as the team scored six runs between the third and fourth innings off of three home runs. Lounette Jackson hit the first home run for the Warriors, putting a two-run shot over the right-center field fence to tie the game at 3-3 in the third. Nippert then put the Warriors up with a three-run shot in the top of the fourth, and Rachel Conard followed with a solo home run later in the inning.
Nippert and Conard’s home runs put the Warriors up 7-3, but the Cougars would mount their comeback later in the game. The Cougars started their comeback in the top of the sixth after a first-batter strikeout led into three straight singles from the team’s seven, eight and nine hitters. Leadoff-hitter Nicole Nonnemacher then pushed the first two runs across for the Cougars in the inning on a ground-rule double to right-center field. The Cougars then loaded the bases again for cleanup-hitter Amanda Hainlen, who plated another run on a walk.
The Warriors got out of the inning after Hainlen’s walk, but the Cougars scored another run in the bottom of the seventh to tie it. Catcher Megan James brought in Ashley Sullivan for the tying run on an infield single to short. The Cougars continued to pressure after James’ hit, too, but the Warriors got two outs with a runner in scoring position to force extra innings where they’d win the game.
Overall, Nonnemacher, Sullivan and James all had three hits in the game for the Cougars, but Corban’s Nippert stole the show offensively. Nippert finished 2-for-3 from the plate with two runs and four runs batted in on her two home runs. Nippert also walked twice in the game.
Game 7—Saint Xavier 10, Corban 2 (5 inn.) -- BOX SCORE
Whatever disappointment the Cougars could have been feeling after losing in extra innings in the first game Wednesday quickly went away as the team scored four runs in the top of the first of the second game to take an early lead they would not relinquish.
The four-run first inning fueled the Cougars into high-scoring innings elsewhere, too, as the team added two runs in the second, a run in the third and three more in the fifth. That put the Cougars up eight runs at 10-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, and pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher closed out the Warriors with three straight outs after a leadoff single.
Nonnemacher was dominant for the Cougars throughout the game, as she only gave up three hits to the Warriors, only one of which came after she gave up two hits, including a two-run home run, in the bottom of the first.
Meanwhile, timely hitting led the Cougars offensively, starting in the Cougars’ four-run first inning. An error fueled the Cougars’ first two runs of the game, but Shannon Lauret followed with a two-out double down the left-field line that scored the Cougars’ other two runs in the first. Kate Mollohan then followed with doubles in the top of the second and fifth that brought in three runs between them for the Cougars.
The Cougars also got a productive, albeit odd, offensive game from Amanda Hainlen, who had an RBI in three different innings without recording a hit. Hainlen first brought in a run on a sacrifice bunt in the top of the first, then brought in a run on a grounder in the top of the second. Hainlen then brought in the Cougars’ decisive run in the top of the fifth, as she hit a sacrifice fly to right that put the Cougars up by the final margin, 10-2.
Nonnemacher led the Cougars overall, though, as she finished 3-for-3 with three runs scored from the plate, and pitched all five innings from the circle as well. Besides her, Mollohan finished 2-fo-3 with a run scored and four runs batted in for the Cougars, while Lauret and Ashley Sullivan each had two hits in the game.
On the flip side, Courtney Castronovo scored both of the Warriors’ runs on a home run in the top of the first. The home run was Castronovo’s third home run of the NAIA Opening Round, tying her for the tournament lead along with teammate Stephanie Nippert and Concordia’s Mary Lugar.