Friday, May 11, 2007

DeLand, Fla. - Day two of the 2007 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola is complete. The Atlantic Sun Championship Final between No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb and the No. 1 seed Stetson Hatters begins at noon on Saturday at Stetson's Patricia Wilson Field.

#1 Stetson vs. #2 GWU
No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb advanced to the championship round of the 2007 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola unblemished beating the No. 1 seed Stetson Hatters by a score of 3-2 in eleven innings.

Gardner-Webb scored in the eleventh inning on a throwing error by Heather Colding. The Bulldogs' Joanna Ward beat the ensuing throw home to score the eventual game-winning run.

GWU's Haley Scism hit her first home run of the season to give the Bulldogs a third inning 1-0 lead. The Hatters countered in the bottom of the fourth when Lindsay Wightman drove in Nicole Forbes to tie the game. Erica Demers pitched the first 3.1 innings for Stetson allowing one run, before giving way to Heather Colding who went the final 7.2 innings in the losing effort. Taryn Beck pitched eight innings for GWU, allowing two runs and striking out eight. The Hatters and Bulldogs traded runs in the eighth inning, with both teams scoring on sacrifice flies. Alison Coffey relieved Beck in the ninth inning and finished out the game for the win.

Gardner-Webb will play the winner of Stetson and ETSU/Campbell at noon on Saturday for the A-Sun championship. Gardner-Webb will have to lose twice to it's opponent since the Bulldogs are headed into the championship round undefeated. Stetson will play the winner of No. 3 ETSU and No. 5 Campbell at 6:00 p.m. today for the right to play Gardner-Webb in the championship.

#3 ETSU vs. #5 Campbell
The No. 5 seed Campbell Fighting Camels eliminated the #3 ETSU Lady Bucs from the 2007 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola behind a complete game shutout from Lauren Caviness, 3-0.

Caviness struck out five batters while shutting down the Bucs offense. She will get right back into action, starting the Camels next game against Stetson. Courtney Quinn continued her hot tourney play with a two-run triple in the third inning, later coming home to score Campbell's third run. Jessica Huffman stole her forty-sixth base of the season, placing her third in the single-season A-Sun record book. Huffman currently ranks 28th all-time in NCAA history in stolen bases. Darci Gilbert pitched all seven innings for the Lady Bucs in the losing effort, striking out six batters. Mary Catherine Vercoe led the ETSU offense with two hits.

Campbell will turn right around and play the No. 1 seed Stetson Hatters for a chance to advance to the championship round. The winner will play Gardner-Webb at noon on Saturday for the Atlantic Sun Championship.

#1 Stetson vs. #5 Campbell
The No. 1 seed Stetson Hatters eliminated the No. 5 seed Campbell Fighting Camels in dramatic fashion from the 2007 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship presented by Coca-Cola by a score of 2-0 in eight innings. The Hatters advance the the championship round to face the No. 2 seed Gardner-Webb Bulldogs.

Lindsay Wightman was the hero for the Hatters, hitting a two out two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning off Brittany Stanley. Freshman, Amanda Lindsay started the game for the Hatters, pitching five scoreless innings before giving way to Erica Demers who earned the win pitching three scoreless innings. Campbell's Laura Caviness, who pitched a complete game shutout in the second game of the day agaisnt ETSU, went seven more scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. Caviness has totaled 14 scoreless innings in today's action.

Stetson will play Gardner-Webb Saturday at noon for the Atlantic Sun Championship. Gardner-Webb enters the championship round undefeated, already beating the Hatters once, and only needs one win to secure the NCAA automatic berth. If the Bulldogs lose the at noon, the two teams will play again approximately thirty minutes after the conclusion of the first game.

The Atlantic Sun Championship game starts at noon on Sunday. Continue checking www.atlanticsun.org for full softball championship coverage.