Amherst, MA: The Amherst College softball team won the 2017 NCAA Amherst Super Regional today 3-0 over #18 Ramapo College to advance to the NCAA Championship round. The Mammoths improved to 33-10 overall while the Roadrunners wrap up the season with a 32-11 record.
The game would turn into a pitcher's dual with six hits and 17 strikeouts combined by the two teams. Amherst starting pitcher Gina Pagan (22-4) spun a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts and four walks while Ramapo starting pitcher
Christina Brizek (8-3) surrendered just five hits and fired four strikeouts and three walks.
Ramapo threatened to score in the bottom of the first inning when
Jackie Howarth reach base on an error and advanced to second on a wild pitch with one out before Pagan was able to get a back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
Julia Turner worked a two-out walk in the top of the second inning before Alena Marovitz hit a double to center field plating Turner with Amherst's first run of the game to take a 1-0 lead.
Ally Spellman broke up the Amherst no-hitter in the bottom of the third inning with a single back up the middle with two outs before
Harper Patsko worked a walk to put runners on first and second. Pagan then recorded her seventh strike out of the game to end the Roadrunner threat and hold onto the 1-0 lead.
With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Ally Kido poked a single before Lauren Tuiskula was hit by a pitch to reach base, putting two runners on with two outs. Brizek then induced an infield ground out to Spellman at second base to end the Mammoth threat.
Ramapo had another opportunity to score when they put two runners on in the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs before Pagan induced an infield pop up to end the inning. In the top of the seventh, the Mammoths plated two insurance runs with two outs. Tuiskula smacked a triple to the right-center field gap scoring Annie Murphy before Salustri singled home Tuiskula to take a 3-0 lead. Murphy worked a two out walk to reach base earlier in the inning.
Ramapo didn't go away quietly in the bottom of the seventh as they brought the game-tying run to the plate with no outs.
Nicole Hernandez led off the inning being hit by a pitch before being lifted for pinch runner Alexandra Rigoli. Rigoli moved up two bases on wild pitches before pinch-hitter
Carly Vadinsky worked a walk to put runners on the corners. Amherst relief pitcher Lorena Ukanwa was able to work out of the jam as she recorded two straight strikeouts and a foul out deep down the left field line to end the game and preserve the 3-0 win. Ukanwa earned her second save in as many days and fourth on the season.
Ramapo's 32 wins are fourth most in program history while they reached the NCAA Super Regional round of 16 for the first time in program history since the NCAA Tournament moved to a super regional format four years ago.
