2011 NCAA DIVISION III SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Cortland (NY) Regional – Saturday, May 14, 2011
Game seven: #4 Piedmont College (GA) 5, #6 King’s College (PA) 1 (King’s eliminated)
Box Score
Recap by Mark Coley
CORTLAND, NY – Facing elimination and a 1-0 deficit through five innings, fourth-seeded Piedmont College broke the game open with five runs on four hits in the sixth inning and got a complete-game, five-hitter from senior B.J. Cofer (Woodstock, GA/Sequoyah) in posting a 5-1 win over sixth-seeded King’s College in an elimination game of the 2011 NCAA Division III Softball Regional Championship at SUNY Cortland.
The Lady Lions (29-14), The Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC) champions making their second straight NCAA tournament appearance and third trip overall, will face the loser of the SUNY Cortland–Moravian College matchup in the opening 12:00 p.m. contest on Sunday, May 15. King’s, the Freedom Conference champion appearing in their 11th NCAA tournament, concludes the season at 19-13.
Cofer (14-8) earned her second complete-game tournament win of the weekend, facing 29 batters and registering four strikeouts while walking two. She has only given up an earned run in 14 and two-third innings.
King’s scored the first run of the game as sophomore second baseman Kayla Rutkoski (Shickshinny, PA/Northwest Area) belted a two-out homer down the left field line. But the Piedmont defense would hold The Lady Monarchs to two hits with four batters left on base over the next three innings in setting up its fifth inning charge, sparked by an run-scoring single from sophomore shortstop Megan McClain (Bishop, GA/Oconee County) and a two-run double from sophomore third baseman Jamie Dennis (Liliburn, GA/Parkview).
Dennis and McClain were two of five Lady Lions to produce hits, joining junior catcher Emily Cheek (Watkinsville, GA/Oconee County), sophomore second baseman Rebecca Renfroe (Tunnel Hill, GA/Northwest Whitfield) and sophomore designated player Amy Thompson (Bogart, GA/North Oconee). King’s sophomore designated player Brittny Baynes (Sierra Vista, AZ/Tombstone) was the lone player from either team with multiple hits, going 2-for-3.
Freshman Brittany Haight (Warren Center, PA/Northeast Bradford) registered the loss (11-6) in the circle for the Lady Monarchs, yielding four hits, four runs, and a pair of walks while striking out two in five and two-thirds innings before being relieved by sophomore Annie Erndl (Clarksburg, NJ/Allentown) for the final inning and a third.
