SEGUIN, Texas. – The Cedar Crest College softball team defeated Emmanuel College (Mass.) 4-3 to advance to the third and final day of the 2021 NCAA Division III Softball Regional Tournament, hosted by Texas Lutheran University.
The Falcons awaited the loser of the Emory & Henry College (Va.) Wasps and the Emmanuel College Saints (Mass.) game, which the Wasps handed the Saints a 5-1 loss. The Saints would have to go head-to-head with the Black & Yellow to stay alive in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The winner advances to tomorrow to be one of the three remaining teams in the Seguin Region, the other would be eliminated for the tournament.
Cedar Crest, designated as the home team, and Emmanuel played two scoreless innings before the first runs of the game came across the plate. The Falcons scored twice in the bottom of the third inning, coming off of an RBI single from graduate student second baseman Nicole Santaniello (Kissimmee, Fl./Osceola) that scored senior right fielder Ashley Heller (Allentown, Pa./Parkland). After a wild pitch, sophomore center fielder Renee Snyder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) scored to give Cedar Crest a 2-0 lead.
After a quick fourth inning, the Black and Yellow would tack on a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Santaniello ripped an RBI double to left-center field that plated senior designated player Riley Tremblay (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), followed by another RBI double by senior first baseman Patricia Dalton (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) that gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth inning.
Both teams were scoreless in the sixth inning, but Emmanuel made things interesting and stressful for the Falcons in the top of the seventh inning. The Saints had the bases loaded with two outs and hit a single down the right-field line that scored two runs, but a throwing error would allow a third run to score for Emmanuel, cutting the lead to just one, 4-3. Cedar Crest would manage to hold off the Saints and fight off another elimination game, defeating Emmanuel, 4-3.
Four Falcons combined for six hits, being led by Santaniello and Dalton, each going 2-for-3 on the day. Santaniello recorded two RBIs, scored a run, and stole a base to go with her double, as Dalton also hit a double and plated a runner. Tremblay and Snyder both reached on base hits and each scored runs for the Black and Yellow. Sophomore Brianna Lankford (Hanover, Pa,/South Western Senior), who pinch ran for Cedar Crest, stole a base to get her name in the stat column.
Getting the start and throwing a complete game was graduate student Breanna Young (Easton, PA/Wilson Area). She allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits, with two walks and a strikeout. Young recorded 12 groundouts and seven flyouts in the 28 batters she faced. Young received the win in the decision, putting her record at (9-1) on the year.
With this win, Cedar Crest improves to 21-4 and stays alive in the tournament and earns them a spot in yet another elimination game tomorrow, Sunday, May 23. The Falcons will take on Emory & Henry College (Va.), which is scheduled for 1:00 PM CST / 2:00 PM EST. For more information on the NCAA Division III Softball Regional Tournament, head to: https://tlubulldogs.com/tournaments/sball/2020-21/index
