2011 NCAA DIVISION III SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Cortland (NY) Regional – Monday, May 16, 2011
Game nine: #4 Piedmont College (GA) 7, #2 Moravian College (PA) 1 (Moravian eliminated)
Box Score
Recap by Mark Coley
CORTLAND, N.Y. – Junior catcher Emily Cheek (Watkinsville, GA/Oconee County) registered her lone hit of the game, a three-run home run down the left field line with one out in the top of the first inning, which was all fourth-seeded Piedmont College needed on its way to a 7-1 victory over second-seeded Moravian College in an elimination game of the 2011 NCAA Division III Softball Regionals at SUNY Cortland.
The matchup, which was suspended by rain after five innings on Sunday afternoon at 2:18 p.m. (with Piedmont leading 5-1), took nearly 24 hours to complete, resuming today at 2:06 p.m.
The Lady Lions (30-14), the Great South Athletic Conference champions from Demorest, GA, will move on to face host and top seeded SUNY Cortland in the championship round, needing two victories to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, VA. Regardless of the outcome, it will represent their highest NCAA regional finish since a fourth-place showing in 2006 at the South/Atlantic Regional.
The Greyhounds, the four-time Landmark Conference champions making their 13th NCAA playoff appearance in 14 seasons (reaching the Division III World Series a year ago), finishes the season 37-9.
Piedmont tallied four runs on four hits in the opening inning. In addition to Cheek’s homer, sophomore third baseman Jamie Dennis (Liliburn, GA/Parkview) drove in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly, scoring senior pitcher B.J. Cofer (Woodstock, GA/Sequoyah) from third base.
Six players registered hits for the Lady Lions, who added runs in the third, fifth, and sixth innings. Sophomore shortstop Megan McCain (Bishop, GA/Oconee County) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in, senior leftfielder Raley White (Bogart, GA/Oconee County) scored twice, and Dennis finished with two RBI.
Cofer posted her third complete game victory in the circle, giving up five hits and a pair of walks while striking out two in facing 28 batters. In four appearances and 21 and two-third innings, she has a 0.65 earned-run average, yielding 13 hits and a pair of earned runs while striking out 11 and holding opposing hitters to a .171 batting average.
Moravian picked up its lone run in the bottom of the second inning when senior right fielder Amanda Paulus (Easton, PA) doubled to right field, scoring freshman catcher Cassie Ernst (Annville, PA/Annvillle-Cleona) from third base with one out. No player tallied multiple hits in 25 total at-bats for the Greyhounds.
