Box Score
ITHACA, N.Y. - In a riveting pitcher's duel, it was a seventh-inning wild pitch by #6 Cortland State's Katie Finch to score
Meghan Donoghue that led to #21 Lebanon Valley's only run as the Dutchmen won 1-0 and survived elimination to advance to Sunday play in the NCAA Regional at Ithaca College.
Donoghue broke open a scoreless game when she crossed on the wild pitch in the top of the seventh after tripling with a shot to the right-field warning track, sending the Dutchmen (34-12) into the consolation bracket final with Alfred Sunday at noon. The winner of that game earns the right to face the host Ithaca in the championship game at 2 p.m.
The wild pitch was the only mistake in a fantastic battle between
Laura Snyder and Finch; Snyder (15-5) was dominant with one of her best career outings, striking out nine as she one-hit the top-seeded Dragons. Finch fanned 10 and scattered three hits.
In the first, sophomore
Kerri Datres opened with a single and moved to second off a fielding error. Classmate
Kristen Palmerio moved Datres to third on a sacrifice bunt, but a line out ended the inning.
Snyder posted at least one strikeout in five of the seven innings. She opened the game with back-to-back strikeouts and struck out the side in the second.
Senior
Kristen Uhas hit a line drive through the right side to start the fifth, but Finch buckled down to post three-straight outs and strand pinch runner
Chelsea Artz.
Cortland (40-8) put Snyder in a jam in the fifth with runners on second and third with two outs, but
Chelsea Kehr made a great catch on a fly ball to center to escape damage. In the sixth, the Dragons stranded Meola on third before Snyder induced a fly-out to end the inning.
With the one run advantage, Snyder went to work. The Red Dragons drew a walk with one-out in the bottom of the seventh, but two strikeouts from Snyder ended the game.
Alfred was a 5-1 loser to Ithaca earlier in the day. The LVC-Alfred winner will play Ithaca at 2 p.m., and if Ithaca loses that game, a winner-take-all "if necessary" game would be played on Monday at 10 a.m.
Earlier in the day against King's ....
Box Score
A three-run first inning was all #21 Lebanon Valley needed as it stayed alive to beat King's, 7-2, in an NCAA Regional elimination game at Ithaca College on Saturday.
Lebanon Valley struck early with sophomore
Kerri Datres hitting a lead-off single in the first inning. Junior
Meghan Donoghue then reached on a single to left and a passed ball sent her to third base while scoring Datres. Junior
Katie Freeman concluded the scoring with a two-run home run to right field. The homer was Freeman's seventh of the year, tying her with Donoghue for the most this season.
The Dutchmen added a run in the fifth inning for a 4-0 lead after Donoghue scored sophomore
Chelsea Kehr with a sacrifice fly to right.
Two more runs scored in the sixth for LVC off a dropped fly ball by King's and the Dutchmen added a run in the seventh with an RBI groundout by senior
Kristen Uhas.
King's spoiled the shutout in the seventh on Meaghan Galvin's two-run double.
Val Malizzia (17-5) struck out eight and scattered six hits to earn the win. With the victory, Malizzia set a new single season record for wins that was previously established by Jenn Parks in 2005.
Lindsey Hoerner was tagged for four runs while fanning four for King's in 4.1 innings; Annie Erndl pitched the balance in relief.
