ALLIANCE, Ohio – The no. 12 nationally ranked Mount Union softball team beat Christopher Newport twice to win the NCAA Regional Championship and advance to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history, they won game one 9-1 and won game two 6-1.
The Purple Raiders (33-7) struck first in game one when senior
Kendyll Cahill (Groveport / Groveport Madison) hit an RBI double that scored freshman
Addy Antonetz (Zanesville / West Muskingum) and then senior
Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) hit an RBI single that scored Cahill to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Mount Union would add to their lead in the fourth inning when senior
Lydia Brunner (Minerva) hit a two-RBI triple to bring in Culver and senior
Emily Denney (Poland / Poland Seminary) and then sophomore
Allison Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) hit a sacrifice bunt RBI that brought in Brunner to extend the lead to five runs. Then, in the fifth inning Antonetz scored following an error by the Christopher Newport catcher to make the lead 6-0.
The Captains (30-12) would answer in the bottom half of the fifth when Brooke Zuber hit an RBI single to cut the lead to five runs.
The Raiders would add another run in the sixth inning when Antonetz hit a two-RBI double and then in the seventh inning Mercer hit an RBI single to stretch the lead back out to eight runs.
Christopher Newport wouldn't have an answer in the bottom half of the seventh as the Raiders would go on to win 9-1 and force a winner take all game two.
Cahill got the start in the circle for Mount Union and threw a complete game, allowing just one run on six hits and struck out three batters.
The Raiders would strike first once again in game two when freshman
Alli Hodgkinson (Akron / Manchester) hit an RBI single that scored Antonetz to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Captains would answer in the top half of the fourth inning when Zuber hit a solo homer to right field to tie the game at a run apiece.
Mount Union would reclaim the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Culver hit a solo homerun and then Mercer hit a three-run homerun to stretch the lead to 5-1. Then, in the sixth inning senior
Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) hit an RBI single that scored Mercer to extend the lead to five runs.
Christopher Newport wouldn't have an answer in the seventh inning as the Raiders would go on to win the NCAA Regional Championship 6-1 and advanced to their first Super Regional in program history
Cahill got the start once again in the circle for Mount Union and threw a complete game, allowing just one run on five hits and struck out six.
Mercer, Antonetz, Jones and Cahill were all named to the Mount Union Regional All-Tournament Team for their performances over the weekend with Cahill being named the Tournament MVP.
With the two wins the Raiders advanced to the NCAA Division III Super Regionals, their opponent and where they will play will be determined tomorrow following the conclusion of the WPI Regional, updates will be posted on athletics.mountunion.edu and @purpleraiders social media accounts.
