BETHANY, W.Va. – Senior 2B Chelsea Butler (Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview) hit a two-out game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Bethany College softball team a 1-0 win over Thomas More in the PAC Tournament championship game and give the Bison their 13th conference title in school history.
The win capped a 3-0 run through the PAC Tournament for Bethany (29-14), who allowed just one run in the three games. The Bison clinched the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals and will find out Monday where they will begin play next weekend.
The title game match-up, which was set up when Thomas More (26-13) beat Westminster 5-4 in the consolation bracket final, was the third straight year the teams have squared off for the crown. Although the game was scoreless throughout, it was a tension-filled contest with chances for each team. The Bison had the first quality opportunity in the second inning when senior 3B Andrea Thomas (Toronto, Ohio), senior CF Cortney Lax (Orrville, Ohio) and sophomore 1B Angie Varhula (West Mifflin, Pa.) singled to load the bases with one out. However, Saints’ pitcher Dana Bors escaped unscathed with a pop up and strike out.
Bethany threatened again in the fourth. Thomas drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second and took third on a single by sophomore DP Emily Jump (Milford, Del./Polytech). But Bors denied BC again with a line out and grounder back to the circle to keep the Bison off the board.
Thomas More’s best two chances came in the final two innings, starting in the sixth when singles put runners on first and second with two outs, The PAC’s top home run hitter Brittany Wegman stepped into the box, but Bison senior starter Cortney Newland (Carmichaels, Pa.) induced her into a foul out to first base. Then in the seventh, two walks and a single loaded the bases with two outs, but Newland got out of the jam with another pop up to first and sending the game into the bottom of the seventh.
Bethany’s winning rally started when Jump drew a leadoff walk and was pinch run for by freshman Ariel Carrington (Valley Grove, W.Va./Wheeling Central). Varhula then singled and a sacrifice moved the runners to second and third. Bors looked like she might get out of trouble again when she struck out the next batter, but her first pitch to Butler was flared into right field to drive in the game-winning run and give Bethany the conference crown.
Besides Butler’s heroics in the final inning, the star of the championship game was Newland, who threw a gem. She blanked the Saints on four hits and struck out two while walking two, as she raised her record to 12-7. It was her second stellar game against Thomas More in the last 10 days, as she allowed one run on three hits in a 4-1 win over TMC on April 29.
Following the Tournament, Butler was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player, while four others were selected for the All-Tournament team. They included Newland, Jump, who pitched two complete games Friday to propel Bethany into the title game, sophomore Maria Vallone, who had three hits in the tournament and drove in the go-ahead run in Friday’s semifinal win over Thomas More, and Varhula, who batted .500 for the Tournament.
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