Husson Softball Claims Seventh Consecutive NAC Title

5/2/2015 12:00:00 AM

For the Printable Tournament Bracket - click HERE.

With two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh, Haley Spiers came up big for Husson with a walk-off single through the left side of the infield to secure the Eagles' seventh straight North Atlantic Conference Championship with a 1-0 victory over Thomas on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Field.

Husson was perfect in the tournament this season, as it knocked off the Terriers twice and New England College to improve to 26-11 overall and clinch an automatic berth in the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament. Thomas, meanwhile, went 2-2 this weekend and finishes its season at 16-23 overall in the losing effort.

Neither team was able to really get their bats going, as the squads combined to produce just nine hits, with four of them coming in the last half inning of play. Sami Schultz led Husson with two hits on the day while Sonja Morse, Taylor M. Johnson and Korrie Laren recorded one hit apiece for the Terriers.

In the circle, Kayla Merrill improved to 15-4 on the season after tossing a complete game shutout for Husson. Her counterpart, Morse, was just as impressive with 6.2 innings of one-run softball in the losing effort.

After six innings of scoreless softball, the Eagle bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Casey Lopes and Deb Colpitts hit back-to-back singles to put two on for Schultz, and the junior came through with a single through the left side of the infield that seemingly was going to plate the game-winning run. However, Thomas' Brianna Warren nailed the runner at the plate with a line drive throw from left to maintain the scoreless affair.

Morse needed one more out to get Thomas out of the jam, but Husson wouldn't give in, and with runners on second and third and two outs, Spiers lined the ball through the left side of the infield to plate Debbie Wright and hand the second-seeded Eagles the 2015 NAC Championship.

NAC All-Tournament Team

Sami Schultz – Husson – MVP
Casey Lopes – Husson
Kayla Merrill – Husson
Lindsy Hoopingarner – Thomas
Alyssa Eugley – Thomas
Sonja Morse – Thomas
Alyssa Krause – New England College
Rebecca Allen – New England College
Kayla Wood – Castleton
Kristi Lawless – Castleton

--Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information

For the Printable Tournament Bracket - click HERE.

2015 NAC SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Hosted by Castleton

Friday, May 1
Game 1: No. 4 New England College 3, No. 1 Castleton 2 - Boxscore
Game 2: No. 2 Husson 3, No. 3 Thomas 1 - Boxscore
Game 3:  No. 3 Thomas 5, No. 1 Castleton 1 - Boxscore (Castleton eliminated)
Game 4: No. 2 Husson 9, No. 4 New England College 0 (6) - Boxscore

Saturday, May 2
Game 5: No. 3 Thomas 9, No. 4 New England College 0 (6) - Boxscore (NEC eliminated)
Game 6: No. 2 Husson 1, No. 3 Thomas 0 - Boxscore 

Game 5 Recap:

Thomas advanced to the championship round of the North Atlantic Conference Tournament this afternoon with a 9-0 victory over the New England College Pilgrims at Spartan Field.

The Terriers outhit the opposition 13-4 and left just six runners on base during the game. With the win, the squad improves to 16-22 overall and now faces the Husson Eagles in the next round of the tournament. The Pilgrims, meanwhile, are eliminated from tournament play and finish their season at 18-18 overall.

Sonja Morse was in outstanding form for Thomas, as she tossed a complete game shutout with four strikeouts and just four hits allowed to pick up her ninth win of the season. Her counterpart, Debra Mazzeo, took the loss after allowing nine runs in six innings of work.

Korrie Laren had a stellar day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored. Taylor M. Johnson added two RBIs of her own, while Alyssa Eugley was 1-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored. For New England College, Maranda Johnson led the attack with two hits followed by Alyssa Krause and Rachel Kerrigan, who added one hit apiece.

The Terriers wasted little time to take lead, as they produced two runs in the top of the first to jump in front of the Pilgrims. After back-to-back outs to start the frame, Eugley walked and in the next at-bat, Laren sent a shot over the left field fence to give the away side a two-run advantage.

After settling down, Mazzeo and Morse matched each other pitch-for-pitch with three scoreless frames until the top of the fifth when Thomas manufactured three runs to go ahead by five. With two outs, Laren singled before Jordan Agger-Barners moved her to third with a double to left center. Taylor M. Johnson followed with a bases-clearing two-bagger into the right field gap to give the Terriers a 5-0 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Eugley added a two-run double and Laren smashed a three-run home run down the left field line, as Morse pitched a scoreless bottom half of the frame to secure a 9-0 Thomas victory.

--Courtesy of Castleton Sports Information