Pictured Above: Junior
Morgan Brown (Photo: Aaron Cornia)
Box Score / NEC Tournament Headquarters
Loretto, PA – Two runs in the third inning and four more in the fourth, combined with great defense throughout, gave the third-seeded Wagner College softball team a 6-3 victory over second-seeded Sacred Heart in the first game of the Northeast Conference (NEC) tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Today's win marks the Seahawks' first postseason victory since 2007 when they advanced to the tournament final with an 8-6 victory over LIU Brooklyn.
With the victory, the Green and White advances to the winners bracket, a game three matchup with top-seeded Saint Francis U tomorrow, at 10:00 am, as the Red Flash won their first game of the tournament, 4-3, in walk-off fashion over fourth-seeded Robert Morris. Game four of the tournament on Friday will pit Sacred Heart against Robert Morris in a losers bracket game at 1:00 p.m. Then, at 4:00 p.m., the double-elimination format calls for a game five matchup between game the three loser and game four winner, with the tournament set to conclude on Saturday.
Wagner spread the wealth today as seven different Seahawks contributed one hit apiece, while senior
Brianna Tredway (Downingtown, PA / Downingtown West) led the team with two RBIs. Sophomore
Karen Prihoda (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School), junior
Stefanie Aplin (Hamilton Square, NJ / The Lawrenceville School), and freshman
Alyssa Tucker (Laguna Niguel, CA / Santa Margarita Catholic) also batted in runs on the afternoon, while Prihoda led the team with two runs scored.
Wagner fell behind early, as an RBI single by SHU's Victoria D'Addario in the first inning, followed by a Cierra Casale home run in the bottom of the second, gave the Pioneers a 2-0 lead.
The Seahawks answered back with two outs in the third, as consecutive singles by Prihoda and Bender and a walk to Aplin loaded the bases for Tredway, who came up with a two-run RBI double to left field in tying the game at two. For the First-Team All-NEC outfielder, it was her 29
th and 30
th RBIs of the season.
The Red Flash went ahead 3-2 in the bottom half of the frame on a leadoff home run by Hailey Desrosiers, but lost the lead for good in the fourth, as the Seahawks rallied for four runs on three hits.
Freshman
Kaila Smith (Millville, NJ / Millville) led off the inning with a walk and was replaced by sophomore
Maite Reece (Covina, CA / Gabrielino) on the bases. Next up, freshman
Amelia Van Orman (Orange, CA / Lutheran High School of Orange County) blasted a double into center field, advancing Reece to third. With two runners in scoring position, Tucker delivered, sending a single into center field to tie the game at 3-3.
Two batters later, First-Team All-NEC selection Prihoda put the ball in play, allowing Van Orman to scamper home from third ahead of the throw, putting the Seahawks in front for good at 4-3.
During the following at bat, a throwing error at third base allowed Tucker to score, making it a 5-3 game, with Prihoda advancing to second on the play. Two batters later, Aplin delivered an RBI single to left, giving the Green & White a 6-3 edge, capping off the day's scoring.
Stingy defense and the pitching of
Morgan Brown (Buckeye, AZ / Verrado) did the rest as the junior earned her 11
th win of the season, striking out six in a strong 5.1-inning stint. Brown was aided in the fifth when she allowed a one-out single before the Wagner middle infield prevented further damage, as Prihoda snagged a line drive out of the air and doubled up the runner at first to end the inning.
Senior
McKaleigh Goodale (Bradenton, FL / Lakewood Ranch), Wagner's all-time saves leader, earned her fourth save of the season, throwing 1.2 innings in relief.
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