Let’s update the blog with the latest game, the elimination round game between Chowan and Virginia State, with a berth in the championship game on the line:
And with the steady rain this evening in Petersburg, the game has been postponed until 10 a.m. Saturday. The championship round will be played following the conclusion of the game.
Earlier today:
We will feature a live, running blog of today’s softball action from the CIAA Championships. It is Day 2, with two elimination games in the morning at Petersburg Sports Complex before the winner’s bracket semifinal between division champions Chowan and Winston-Salem State this afternoon at Virginia State University.
Why softball? Well, because Fayetteville State is still alive in the tournament, and well, I’ve got a job to do here, also.
Updates to come as the games are in progress. For a roundup of Day 1 action, go here.
Rain is in the area today, but it doesn’t look like anything significant will develop. Temperatures are in the upper 50s and cloudly. Wind is about 10 mph, which makes things a little chilly out there. In the elimination round, the team that least wants to hang around will feel the cold a lot earlier.
We’ll toggle between games:
S2 Fayetteville State vs. N3 Bowie State
Top of the First Bowie State threatening in the top of the first inning, and a game that was scoreless until late in the process in the opening round on Thursday, could go a very different way today. Amanda Ray singles to left, and BSU has a 1-0 edge with two outs against FSU ace Olivia Peavey.
Peavey gets out of the jam without any further damage, and FSU is coming to bat.
Bottom 1 And FSU gets the run right back, and continues to threaten in the first. Tiffany Locklear comes through with a sharp single to right to plate Maya Washington, who has moved to the top of the FSU order recently. Broncos are doing a nice job putting the ball in play early against BSU ace Mariela Hernandez, who shut the Broncos out on Thursday.
And April Branch just misses a two-run double to left. Just foul. Then she pops out to the catcher, and the threat is put out with a strikeout of Jessica Randolph.
Top 3 Adria Lewis nearly takes Peavey deep. She belts one to right center, and drives in a run with a double. 2-1, BSU.
Peavey is going to have to work out of another jam like she did in the first and just try to limit the damage. Runners on first and third after an infield hit, and just one out. Need a strikeout of a popup coaxed from Haley Snyder.
And there’s the strikeout…wait. Ump says that’s only strike two, and needs to confer with the field ump. They go with a full count again, and the next pitch is ball four. Now bases are loaded.
And Kristen Lee makes the Broncos pay, driving a 1-2 pitching into center field to score two more. BSU is threatening to break this one open. 4-1, now, with runners on first and sec…make that second and third after the passed ball. Things unraveling here for FSU.
And speaking of unraveling, go down to Shaw/VSU.
Peavey gets two outs without any more damage, getting a big strikeout of Cherokee Williams after falling behind 3-0 in the count. Broncos’ bats have to get going.
Bottom 3 Sometimes it helps if you have a player who, ahem, can’t run. April Branch reaches on a single, moving Tiffany Locklear to third. Branch tries a delayed steal, and because, she, um, doesn’t run well, she draws the throw from home. But Branch retreats, and Locklear breaks for home, just getting under the tag. 4-2, BSU.
Top 4 FSU can’t afford to trade runs. BSU’s Amanda Ray belts a double to drive in another run, and BSU leads 5-2 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Top 5th Misty Huber in to pitch for FSU. She has to keep BSU at five runs. Tall order, but that’s the only job Huber has at this point. Any further away, and it’s unlikely FSU has enough offense to get back into the game. Outs are running out.
And walks and wild pitches aren’t going to get it done.
BSU leads 7-2 entering the bottom of the fifth. Broncos need a big — no, make it huge — inning to get back into this.
Bottom 5 BSU turns its second double play of the game. Bulldogs are cruising right now.
Bottom 6 A little bit of life for the Broncos, who score twice after shortstop Renelle Traylor throws away what should have been a groundout for the third out. BSU leads 7-4, but struggled with errors to fuel Chowan’s comeback a day ago.
Bottom 7 And the Broncos aren’t going quietly. April Branch is the tying run at the plate.
Another double steal, and the Broncos score. It’s 7-5, and there’s a chance.
And Branch is retired on a popup. Randolph up.
And Randolph singles to left — AND THE LEFT FIELDER LETS THE BALL GET BY! Randolph reaches third, and it’s 7-6.
BSU has to bring both the outfield and infield in. Quristeen Brown at the plate, and with the players drawn in to protect the plate, her average just went up 100 points.
Ground ball to short, and Randolph is coming,. But so is the throw, and Randolph stops, but the catcher can’t field the throw cleanly, and Randolph steps around the play and scores. The game is tied, and Brown is at second with one out.
Demarius Pankey now with a chance to win for FSU. Good wheels at second
Pankey draws a walk. That turns the lineup over to Ashley Wlezen.
Wlezen grounds out to the pitcher. Two away, but the runners move up to second and third.
That brings up Maya Washington, who has two RBI today.
And Washington goes down on strikes. Extras.
Top 8 And BSU responds. Runners now on second and third with one out. Traylor with a double to deep left.
About the worst case scenario for FSU. Haley Snyder with fly ball to deep center field, and Traylor scores tagging up. But the throw gets away from the catcher Wlezen, and Adria Lewis also scores. 9-7, BSU, and FSU is gonna have to make another comeback.
Bottom 8 Two outs, and Branch reaches on an error by the shortstop. First and third, two outs for Randolph.
Ground ball to short, and she doesn’t have to throw it this time. She steps on the bag, and that’s the ballgame.
S3 Shaw vs. N2 Virginia State
Bottom 1 VSU puts some serious pressure on Shaw in the early going, batting around and striking for four runs in the bottom of the first. Uphill climb, for the Bears, down 4-0 as they come to bat.
Top 3 Shaw does what it needs to do — have a clean inning. The Bears haven’t done anything offensively yet, but with the mercy rule looming, they had to shut VSU down before it got away any further. Stll 4-0, but Shaw has a chance now to get back in it. VSU scored those four runs on just two hits — errors, walks and a hit batter gave the Trojans a lot of help.
But the Bears have to get something going offensively. They get a runner on base, finally, but she goes nowhere. VSU in control, 4-0.
Bottom 3 VSU has the mercy rule in its sights. Trojans lead 6-0.
Top 4 Shaw gets some help from three straight VSU errors to score a run, but the Trojans settle down after that, getting a tremendous running backhanded catch up the middle by second baseman LaCara Hawkes to end the threat. 6-1, VSU.
Bottom 4 VSU is running through the stable of Shaw pitchers. Nothing working for Shaw, which now trails 8-1 entering the fifth.
Top 6th Yes, top of the sixth. Shaw has succeeded in extending the game.
So there’s that.
Ballgame. Virginia State advances to play the winner of Bowie State/FSU after an 8-1 win.
WINNERS BRACKET
GAME 11 N1 CHOWAN VS. S1 WINSTON-SALEM STATE
We’ll go with a couple of running updates from the winners bracket, which is being played at Virginia State University. Chowan leads early, 1-0, in the top of the second inning.
Top 3 Chowan building an early lead, getting to 2-1 through two innings.
FINAL Winston-Salem State scores four unanswered runs and ends up making quick work of Chowan 5-3 to advance to the championship round of the softball bracket. All four runs came in the fifth inning.
Chowan will fall to the elimination round where it will face the winner of the game going on between Virginia State and Bowie State. That game is scheduled to be played at 5:30 p.m. at Virginia State University.
Here’s the report to the game:
WINSTON-SALEM STATE ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
PETERSBURG, VA – Before Britney Cato stepped to the plate in the fifth inning, the Winston-Salem State Rams had been held in check offensively.
Check mate.
With the bases loaded, Boyd belted a three-run double to fuel a four-run fifth inning as the Winston-Salem State Rams came from behind to knock Chowan from the winners’ bracket and advance to the CIAA Softball Championship round after a 5-3 victory on Friday afternoon at Virginia State University.
The Rams (28-11) emerge from the opening rounds of the tournament as the lone unbeaten, and would have to be beaten twice in the title round to lose the championship.
Chowan (33-18) will play Virginia State, which eliminated Bowie State 8-0 in five innings on Friday afternoon, at 5:30 p.m. Friday on the campus of Virginia State University.
Hawks starter Christie Wright was cruising in the early going. Despite being touched for a run on two hits in the second inning, Wright had limited the damage, and held the Rams to just four hits through four innings as Chowan held onto a 2-1 lead.
But Winston-Salem State, the Southern Division champion, put immediate pressure on the Hawks in the fifth. After loading the bases around an out, Nikki Lynch drew a walk to drive in a run to tie the game at 2.
In stepped Boyd, who blasted Wright’s offering to deep right-center field to clear the bases and give Winston-Salem State its first lead at 5-2.
Chowan, the Northern Division champion, managed a run on an Allie Kolezynski single in the top of the seventh, but Brittany Lane retired the nation’s leading run-producer, Tricia Gorman, to end the game.
Lane (17-5) earned the win with seven complete innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to go with four strikeouts. Cato and Shantel Haskins each had a pair of hits for the Rams.
Only one of the five runs charged to Wright (13-9) was earned. She scattered seven hits. Kolezynski had two hits for Chowan.
GAME 12 N3 BOWIE STATE VS. N2 VIRGINIA STATE
It’s a very fast turnaround for Bowie State to play another elimination game. Virginia State has had plenty of time to rest after its easy win, but the Bulldogs aren to forget about the emotion of the win over FSU and come back to face a dangerous VSU team that it split the regular season series with.
The game is under way.
Bottom 1 And VSU takes an early lead with a Takeia Jones RBI single. Renelle Traylor gives up three hits in the first inning after Mariela Hernandez had worked eight innings against FSU.
Bottom 2 Back-t0-back singles by Christina Maye and Alyssa Winston have VSU in the early driver’s seat against Bowie State. Good start for the Trojans, who are also being led by pitcher Jessica Mattia, who has not allowed a hit yet and has struck out four. Tough hill for BSU to climb right now.
Bottom 3 And Virginia State is beginning to break this one wide open. Mikia Noble with a run-scoring double and then Sharon Lipford raps one to left field to plate Noble. It’s 5-0, and VSU has seven hits to BSU’s one. BSU just looks out of gas.
And now Ashley Bushrod adds a single, and it’s 6-0. Mercy rule is visible over the horizon.
And with the bases loaded, Megan Alexander comes on the pitch. She retires LaCara Hawkes to escape any more damage. 6-0, VSU.
Top 5 Bowie State had a chance to chip away, placing runners on second and third with two outs. But Mattia coaxes Danielle McClay into a popup back to the circle to end the threat. Good pitch there, and a big out for VSU.
With two runs, VSU can advance to play Chowan for the right to play in the championship round.
Bottom 5 And there’s your ballgame. Christina Maye slaps a two-run single and that gives VSU the 8-0 win by the mercy rule. VSU advances to take on Chowan.
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