OFFICIAL SITE | BRACKET | BOX SCORE
May 9, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Fifth-seed Defiance scored three in the third and five in the fourth and advanced in the loser's bracket of the first round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship following an 8-2 win over sixth-seed Thomas More.
Defiance improved to 30-15 and faces second-seed DePauw later this afternoon. The Saints wrapped up their season at 36-11.
Allison Ramsay led off the third with a triple and scored on Aarika Davis' single. Mallory Faling drove in Tasha Stucke and Melanie Bushman with a single to left center and gave the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead.
Ramsay again left off the fourth with single and later scored on Stucke's sacrifice fly. Faling's bases loaded single made it 5-0 before Kayla Crager drove in two with a single. Stephanie Lieto's double plated Faling and pushed the lead to 8-0.
The Saints' lone runs came in the bottom of the fourth when Kim Prahl hit a two-run homer.
Defiance totaled 15 hits led by Davis' four and three from Faling. Ramsay totaled a pair, while Faling drove in three. Steph Stadtmiller had two of Thomas More's nine hits.
Justine Johnston improved to 19-9 with the win, while Dana Bors dropped to 16-3.
Second-seed and 15th-ranked DePauw scored three each in the fourth and fifth innings and blanked fifth-seed Defiance by a 7-0 score
/Athletics/SoftballKim Blewett's first-inning grand slam provided the margin that top-seed and fourth-ranked Ohio Northern needed in a 5-3 win over second-seed and 15th-ranked DePauw in NCAA Division III Softball Championship first round play
/Athletics/SoftballIn a resumption of last evening's game which was halted after nine innings, due to darkness Thomas More's Jennifer Weis blasted a two-run homer in the top of the 10th lifting the Saints to a 13-11 win over Hiram in the first round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship
/Athletics/SoftballTop-seed and fourth-ranked Ohio Northern scored three runs in the top of the seventh and advanced in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship first round winner's bracket with an 8-5 win over fifth-seed Defiance
/Athletics/SoftballMegan Soultz allowed just a sixth inning single to Lisa Wiesman and led second-seed and 15th-ranked DePauw to a 2-0 win over sixth-seed Thomas More in a winner's bracket game in the first round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship
/Athletics/Softball