ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The top-seeded Cedar Crest College softball team won the 2021 Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon on their home field.
"I can't say it enough, I am so proud of this team," commented Head Coach Kim Begley.
The Falcons awaited the winner of the elimination game between Keystone College and Wilson College, where the Phoenix defeated the Giants in extra innings, placing Wilson in the championship series. The Phoenix would blank the Falcons, 6-0, in Game 1 of the CSAC Championship, forcing the "if necessary" contest. Cedar Crest would only need five innings to take down Wilson, 12-2, to claim their first conference title in program history.
CSAC Championship Game 1: The Falcons played their first game of the day at 12:30 PM. The Black and Yellow only we able to earn five hits off Wilson in the first game, with junior Rachel Savini (Wilmington, DE/Delaware Military Academy) going 2-for-3 in the game. Seniors Ashley Heller (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), Patricia Dalton (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area), and sophomore Renee Snyder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) were the other Falcons to reach base in the contest.
Junior Skyler Bilous (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) got the start in Game 1 and threw for 5.0 innings. She allowed six runs, three of them earned, on nine hits. She struck out three of the 30 batters she faced, including seven flyouts and five groundouts. Graduate student Breanna Young (Easton, PA/Wilson Area) entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched the remaining 2.0 innings. She allowed just one hit and no runs while earning three groundouts, two flyouts, and struck out one in the seven batters she faced. Bilous ultimately received the loss in the decision, putting her at (9-2) on the year.
CSAC Championship Game 2: Wilson got on the scoreboard first, scoring one in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but Cedar Crest evened the game up at 1-1 after one inning. After a scoreless second inning, the Phoenix got one more run across the plate to regain the lead, 2-1, but the Falcons bats erupted for a seven-run third inning to jump on top for an 8-2 lead. The Black and Yellow would tack on four more runs in the fourth inning, needing just three defensive outs to capture the CSAC crown. Doing just that, Cedar Crest defeated Wilson College 12-2 in five innings to win the program's first conference championship.
Begley added, "We knew going into this game that it was going to be the battle of the offenses and this team put the runs on the board and kept tacking them on inning after inning."
Nine Falcons recorded a hit in the title-clinching game, being led by senior Riley Tremblay (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and scored a run. Savini produced her second multi-hit game of the day, going a clean 3-for-3, scoring twice, and driving in a run. Four Falcons each had two-hit performances, starting with Dalton, who had two doubles, and RBI and a run scored. Graduate student Nicole Santaniello (Kissimmee, Fl./Osceola) and Snyder each scored a run and plated a runner, as Heller had two RBIs and scored once. Junior Delaney VanBuskirk's (Bridgeville, Del./Woodbridge) lone hit of the game was a double that drove in a run, as senior Danielle Krispin (Tunkhannock, Pa./Tunkhannock) reached on a base hit that plated a runner and scored two runs of her own. Graduate student Dallas Horning (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) also recorded a hit, which then sophomore Reilly Mateljan (Friedens, Pa./Somerset Area) replaced her as a pinch runner and scored.
Young got the start and threw for all 5.0 innings. She allowed two earned runs on just two hits, to go with a pair of strikeouts. She also earned nine groundouts and four flyouts. Young faced 22 batters and earned with the win in the decision, putting her overall record at (7-1). "The pitching staff was the heart of the team today," continued Begley. "The team stepped up and fought for their pitchers and came up big with the final outs."
"They had an opportunity to rewrite their story today from 2019 and they did just that. I am excited to see what is next for them," concluded Begley
With this win, Cedar Crest will represent the CSAC and make their first-ever appearance in the D-III NCAA Championship Tournament. The selection show will be live on Monday, May 17. at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.
