CORTLAND, N.Y. - Alexis Schengrund threw a three-hit shutout as third-seeded Widener defeated second-seeded Cortland, 3-0, in the opening game of the NCAA Division III Cortland, New York Softball Regional.
Widener (27-11) will face Messiah in a winner's bracket game Saturday at 11 a.m., while Cortland (29-13) will play Johnson & Wales in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. Messiah (35-8) defeated Johnson & Wales (34-9) in Friday's second game, 5-2. Widener and Messiah are both members of the same conference, the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth.
Widener took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Ally Horvath led off by beating out a dribbler in front of the catcher for a single. She stole second and scored when Jamie Gosselin reached on a throwing error. The Pride added two in the fourth on a two-out, two-run single by Taylor Allen off the fence in left center with runners on first and second.
Cortland's best threat came in the second when
Mikayla Shade (Glenmont/Bethlehem) led off with a double and moved to third on a one-out
Kelly O'Gorman (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) single. Schengrund, however, got out of the jam with a foul pop-out and a strikeout.
The Red Dragons, who were shutout for the first time this year, had one other runner reach scoring position.
Ericka Sadowski (Liverpool) led off the sixth with a single to break a string of 11 straight batters retired by Schengrund.
Andrea Schoonmaker's (Marlboro) fielder's choice forced out Sadowski at second, and a passed ball allowed Schoonmaker to take second, before a pop-up and flyout ended the inning.
Schengrund struck out three and walked two and improved to 6-2 on the season. Allen was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI and Horvath finished 2-for-4 with two steals. Shade went 1-for-2 with a walk and double and Sadowski finished 1-for-2 for Cortland.
Jamie Lachall (Philadelphia, PA/Sun Valley) allowed three runs, two earned, over six innings with a walk and five strikeouts. She gave up six hits.
Sam Van Dorn (Medford/Patchogue-Medford) tossed a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts and a walk.
Tournament Web Page
