Denison and Hiram Advance to NCAC Championship

May 3, 2008

MEADVILLE, Pa. - On another wet and dreary day at Robertson Field, #3 Denison and #4 Hiram advanced to the championship round of the 2008 North Coast Athletic Conference Softball Championship. Denison earned the top position after defeating the Terriers in today's opening game. Host and top-seeded Allegheny defeated Ohio Wesleyan in the other matchup before Hiram beat the Gators for the second straight day, earning the right to play Denison on Sunday.

Visit the Allegheny TOURNAMENT SITE for more details and the adjusted scheduled for tomorrow's action.

Ohio Wesleyan scored on the first pitch of the game as Emily Bradley connected for a solo homer to left center. From that point, Gator starter Amanda Downey (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) allowed only three hits without walking a batter and striking out three.

The Gator offense struck for a pair of runs in the third when Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) scored on a wild pitch and Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) drove home Marci Potuzko (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area).

The offense picked up when the Gators played Hiram. The Terriers scored four times in the second inning with Stephanie Zunic driving home two with a double to left center.

Allegheny chipped away over innings four through six as five different Gators drove in runs over the three frames. Allison Korotkin (Birmingham, Mich./Detroit Country Day) delivered the big hit with an RBI double in the sixth after Potuzko tied the game with a double in the fifth.

However, Hiram was able to rally with four runs in the seventh and final inning after RBI hits from Kelly Langland and Megan Samuel. The Gators were unable to mount another comeback in their half of the inning and saw their 2008 campaign come to an end.

After a rough start, Korotkin battled her way through 6.1 innings but still took the loss for Allegheny. Downey, pictured left, came on to record the final two outs for the Gators. Sarah Padilla tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in relief to get the win for Hiram.

The Terriers will now face Denison at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow in the championship round of the tournament. Should Hiram win, a seventh game will be needed to decide the league’s champion. If the Big Red win the opener, they will be crowned 2008 champs.

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