Thomas More claims PAC Softball Championship Tournament title

Thomas More claims PAC Softball Championship Tournament title

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2015 PAC Softball Championship Tournament
Friday, May 1
Game A: (2)  Thomas More 8, (3) W&J 7
Game B: (1) Bethany 2, (4) Saint Vincent 1
Game C: (4) Saint Vincent 5, (3) W&J 2
Game D: (2) Thomas More 5, (1) Bethany 2

Saturday, May 2
Game E: (1) Bethany 3, (4) Saint Vincent 1
Game F: (2) Thomas More 2, (1) Bethany 1

BETHANY, W.Va. (pacathletics.org) – Second-seeded Thomas More College won its second Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Championship Tournament title in the last three seasons on Saturday, posting a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Bethany College in the tournament’s championship round.

The four-team, double-elimination tournament was hosted by the PAC regular season champion and number one seed Bethany (24-16) at Bison Field.

The Saints (26-15) marched into Saturday with a 2-0 mark, needing just one victory to earn the program’s fifth league crown and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championships.

Junior first baseman Staci Stewart (Erlanger, Ky. / Lloyd Memorial) put the Saints on the board first with a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the second inning.

Bethany trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI groundout by senior third baseman Emili Garretson (Winfield, W.Va. / Winfield).

After watching Thomas More leave the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, a one out single from junior center fielder T.J. Solomon (Beltsville, Md. / Elizabeth Seton) set up homestanding Bethany with the potential game-tying run on base. Following a strikeout of senior left fielder Kadie Kelly (Royal Oak, Md. / St. Michaels), Solomon was charged for leaving the base early, which quelled the Bethany comeback attempt.  

Junior starter Mamee Salzer (Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry), named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after the title-clinching win, went the distance in Saturday’s victory, allowing one run (0 earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks.
 
2015 PAC Softball All-Tournament Team
Pos. Name Class School Hometown / High School
OF Kayla Kelly Jr. Bethany College Pasadena, Md. / Institute of Notre Dame
SS Jessica Kusnierz Sr. Bethany College New Castle, Pa. / Shenango
P Cassie Weiss Fr. Bethany College Washington, Pa. / McGuffey
P Samantha Emert So. Saint Vincent College Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood
OF Sarah Swettlen Jr. Saint Vincent College Greensburg, Pa. / Hempfield
3B Jamie Ertel So. Thomas More College Mt. Healthy, Ohio / McAuley
2B Dallis Knotts Fr. Thomas More College Florence, Ky. / Boone County
P Mamee Salzer Jr. Thomas More College Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry
1B Staci Stewart Jr. Thomas More College Erlandger, Ky. / Lloyd Memorial
2B Jen Bahm Sr. Washington & Jefferson College Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon
 
May 2 • Game F
Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(2) Thomas More at (1) Bethany
Thomas More 2, Bethany 1 Box score
Junior starter Mamee Salzer (Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry) earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award after leading the Saints to the title-clinching win. Salzer went the distance in Saturday’s victory, allowing one run (0 earned) on three hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks.

Junior first baseman Staci Stewart (Erlanger, Ky. / Lloyd Memorial) gave the Saints a 2-0 lead after drilling a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the second inning.

In relief of freshman starter Cassie Weiss (Washington, Pa. / McGuffey), senior Kelsey Bish (Landisville, Pa. / Hempfield) stranded three Saints’ baserunners in the top of the sixth.

A one out single from junior center fielder T.J. Solomon (Beltsville, Md. / Elizabeth Seton) set up homestanding Bethany with the potential game-tying run on base. Following a strikeout of senior left fielder Kadie Kelly (Royal Oak, Md. / St. Michaels), Solomon was charged for leaving the base early, which quelled the Bethany comeback attempt.

Weiss took the loss for the Bison, allowing two runs (0 earned) on three hits with six strikeouts and three free passes.
 
May 2 • Game E
Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(3) Saint Vincent at (1) Bethany
Bethany 3, Saint Vincent 1 Box score
Top-seeded Bethany secured a spot in Saturday’s championship round its 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Saint Vincent.

With the game knotted at 1-1 after four innings, Bethany senior third baseman Emili Garretson (Winfield, W.Va. / Winfield) drove in what would prove to be the game-winning run with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth.  

Bethany totaled nine hits in the win. Junior second baseman Ashlee Brill (Lancaster, Ohio / Lancaster) finished 3-for-3 with a run and a stolen base.

Senior starter Kelsey Bish (Landisville, Pa. / Hempfield) allowed one run (1 earned) on six hits with four strikeouts in the complete-game win.

Saint Vincent freshman first baseman Shelby Noel (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and sophomore starter Samantha Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood) each had a pair of hits for the Bearcats.  Emert’s two-out, RBI single in the top of the fourth scored Noel after she led off the frame with a single.
 
May 1 • Game D
Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(2) Thomas More at (1) Bethany
Thomas More 5, Bethany 2 Box score
Junior starter Mamee Salzer (Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry) tossed a complete game and allowed two runs (1 earned) on five hits with three strikeouts to help the second-seeded Saints land a spot in Saturday’s title round with their 5-2 win over top-seeded Bethany.

Junior first baseman Staci Stewart (Erlanger, Ky. / Lloyd Memorial) went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and a RBI for the Saints.

Thomas More capitalized on a Bison miscue in the third when freshman second baseman Dallis Knotts (Florence, Ky. / Boone County) drilled a two-out, two-run single to cap a three-run frame.

Bethany plated runs in the bottom of the fifth and six innings to trim Thomas More’s lead to three, 5-2, but that would be as close as the hosts would get.

Senior starter Kelsey Bish (Landisville, Pa. / Hempfield) took the loss in the circle for the Bison, surrendering five runs (1 earned) on four hits with five strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Junior catcher Marissa Bosley (New Martinsville, W.Va. / Magnolia) went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI in the loss.
 
Game C
May 1 • Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(4) Saint Vincent vs. (3) W&J
Saint Vincent 5, W&J 2 Box score
Sophomore pitcher Samantha Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood) picked up her 12th win of the season for fourth-seeded Saint Vincent in Friday’s 5-2 elimination game win over third-seeded W&J.

In 7.0 innings, Emert (12-5) allowed two runs (1 earned) on just five hits with a pair of walks and a strikeout

W&J junior starter Krista McCartney (Salem, Ohio/United Local) suffered the loss, giving up four runs (3 earned) on five hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts in 5.0 innings.

Emert and freshman designated player Emily Duerr (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Our Lady of Sacred Heart) each finished with a pair of hits and a RBI in the win.

After plating a pair of runs in the fifth to take a 3-1 lead, a pinch hit, RBI single off of the bat of sophomore Laken Lyon (Zanesville, Ohio / Philo) in the sixth gave the Bearcats a 4-2 advantage. Emert’s RBI double in the seventh would close the scoring.
 
Game B
May 1 • Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(4) Saint Vincent at (1) Bethany
Bethany 2, Saint Vincent 1 Box score
Freshman starter Cassie Weiss (Washington, Pa. / McGuffey) allowed just four hits while totaling a career-high 11 strikeouts in top-seeded Bethany’s 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Saint Vincent.

Saint Vincent freshman designated player Emily Duerr (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Our Lady of Sacred Heart) put the Bearcats out in front 1-0 with a run-scoring single in the top of the first.

Bethany junior first baseman Deanna Mihalco’s (Patterson, N.Y. / Brewster) one-out, two-run home run to left center field in the bottom of the third would prove to be the eventual game-winner.

The two teams combined for just seven hits in the game.

Saint Vincent sophomore starter Samantha Emert (Rockwood, Pa. / Rockwood) suffered the loss in the circle, allowing two runs (2 earned) on three hits with three strikeouts and four walks in 6.0 innings.
 
Game A
May 1 • Bethany, W.Va. | Bison Field
(3) W&J vs. (2) Thomas More
Thomas More 8, W&J 7 Box score
Thomas More sophomore third baseman Jamie Ertel (Mt. Healthy, Ohio / McAuley) stroked a two-run, game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the second-seeded Saints an 8-7 win over third-seeded W&J in the tournament opener.

Freshman Dallis Knotts (Florence, Ky. / Boone County) earned the win in relief of junior starter Mamee Salzer (Erlanger, Ky. / St. Henry), allowing three runs (3 earned) on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.

Salzer allowed four runs (4 earned) on six hits with three strikeouts in 4.0 innings. She also finished 3-for-4 with a walk and a RBI in the win. Thomas More totaled 12 hits in the win.

W&J junior starter Krista McCartney (Salem, Ohio/United Local) took a no decision, surrendering five runs (5 earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks in 6.0 innings.

Junior reliever Emily Watson (Harmony, Pa. / Seneca Valley) suffered the loss, allowing three runs (3 earned) on four hits with a walk in two-thirds of an inning.

Senior second baseman Jen Bahm (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Mt. Lebanon) went two-for-three with a home run, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored for the Presidents.