Photo: Aaron Cornia

2017 NEC Softball Championship Headquarters

Box Score Game 1 | Box Score Game 2

Moon Township, PA – They're in!

With two games remaining in the regular season, the Wagner College softball team needed one win in today's doubleheader at Robert Morris to earn its first Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament berth since 2008. The Seahawks did themselves one better, sweeping the Colonials by scores of 10-2 in game one and 9-2 in a weather-shortened second game.

The four-team 2017 NEC Tournament gets underway on May 11 in Loretto, PA, home of top-seeded Saint Francis U.

"I am so proud and excited for this team to accomplish our season goal after months of hard work and dedication,"said second-year head coach Angie Churchill afterwards. This is a great day for Wagner softball and we are looking forward to traveling to Loretto in two weeks and compete for a championship. To come out today under pressure and put forth two team victories with great pitching and a powerful offense speaks to the mental toughness of this team."

With the wins, the Seahawks are now 20-23 on the year and finish the regular season with a 10-6 conference record. With next week's makeup weekend, it is  unclear at this time exactly who Wagner will face in the semifinals of the NEC tournament.

Game 1 Recap – Wagner 10, Robert Morris 2

The Seahawk offense rapped out 13 base hits, while junior Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) limited the opposition to two late runs on seven hits in notching her 10^th win of the season.

Wagner was led by sophomore Lauren Serrato (Litchfield Park, AZ / Verrado High School), who contributed three RBIs on three hits with two runs, while freshman Amelia van Orman (Orange, CA / Lutheran High School of Orange County) also had three hits in the contest.The top of the lineup, in sophomore Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School) and freshman Zoe Bender (Glen Rock, NJ / Glen Rock), each had two RBIs, and senior Hana Gilbert (Valley Center, CA / Valley Center) knocked in one run on two hits.

In what started out as a tight contest early on, both teams were scoreless through five innings until the Seahawks scored five runs in back-to-back frames to close out the game. 

Senior Brianna Tredway (Downingtown, PA / Downingtown West) led off the sixth inning with her first of two hits in the game on a single up the middle and came home on a Gilbert RBI double to break the tie and put the Green and White on the board.

A base hit by Van Orman loaded the bases for Serrato, who came through with a two-run RBI single down the left field line in giving Wagner a 3-0 lead. A Prihoda groundout then moved both runners into scoring position for Bender, who singled home both runners in giving the Green and White a 5-0 lead.

To start the seventh, Tredway once again led off with a hit, this time a double to left, before a Gilbert single set up an RBI single by Van Orman which plated Tredway. Two batters later, a two-run single by Serrato gave the Seahawks an 8-0 lead, before a two-run shot to left field by Prihoda put the exclamation point on the offensive performance.

The Colonials got on the board in the bottom half of the seventh on a home run by Taryn Miller, but Brown induced a line out to Tredway to shut the door. The junior had five strikeouts along with walking two in becoming the first Wagner pitcher this season to eclipse double-digit wins.

Game 2 Recap – Wagner 9, Robert Morris 2

Unlike game one's early defensive battle, the Seahawks got off to a fast start in game two, scoring two in the first and three more in the second in building a quick 5-0 lead.

Prihoda led off the game with a single and reached third on a steal and a wild pitch, before scoring on an error that allowed Bender to reach. The freshman took advantage of two additional errors in the inning in scoring the Seahawks' second run of the game.

In the second inning, Serrato walked and was advanced into scoring position on a groundout by Prihoda, before an RBI single by Bender brought home the third Wagner run of the game. An RBI double by junior Stefanie Aplin (Nesconset, NY / Smithtown East / Georgian Court University) and a single by Tredway then scored two additional runs in building the commanding 5-0 lead.

Wagner further extended its lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Gilbert, before two more errors by the Colonials gave the Seahawks their final two runs of the afternoon.

Overall, the Green and White was led by Bender's three RBIs on two hits, while Aplin, Tredway, and freshman Alyssa Tucker (Laguna Niguel, CA / Santa Margarita Catholic) also had multi-hit games.

In the circle, senior McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch) earned the win after pitching three innings and allowing two runs, both of which came in the bottom half of the third, while van Orman pitched the remaining two innings in relief.

The Seahawks now await the results of next weekend's makeup games, which will decide the seeding for the NEC Tournament. Wagner will either be the number two or number three seed, with Saint Francis U having claimed the top spot already.

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