The second-seeded Thomas More College softball team won its fifth Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Saturday, defeating top-seeded Bethany College 2-1 in the championship game of the league tournament at Bison Field in Bethany, West Virginia.
With the win, the Saints improve to 26-5 and earn the PAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. It will be the Saints’ seventh NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth under seventh-year head coach Lindsay Bramhall.
The NCAA Division III Championship brackets will be announced on Monday on the NCAA Championship Website (www.ncaa.com) at 10 a.m. With the loss, the Bison fall to 24-16.
In the second inning, junior first baseman Staci Stewart (Erlanger, Ky./Lloyd Memorial) hit a two-run home run to left center scoring freshman left fielder Sammy Sagers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) to give the Saint a 2-0.
Bethany plated a run in the sixth inning, but that wouldn’t be enough as Thomas More hung on for the title.
Junior pitcher Mamee Salzer (Erlanger, Ky./St. Henry) earned the win in the circle as she pitched a complete-game three-hitter only giving up one unearned run while striking out four.
At the plate, Stewart, junior shortstop Ana Walter (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) and freshman right fielder Laura Finke (Fort Wright, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) each had a hit for the Saints.
From TMC Athletics