LAKEWOOD, NJ - Georgian Court University claimed the 2007 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Softball Tournament Championship with a 7-3 victory over Caldwell College Saturday afternoon. The Lions were led by Tournament MVP, Samantha Sasko, who earned all three of her team's wins in the tournament. The Lions have earned the CACC's automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament. The field will be announced later this weekend.
No. 1 seed Georgian Court (28-22) entered the championship round needing one win to secure the title after going 2-0 during the first two days of the double-elimination tournament. Caldwell, the #2 seed, took game 1, 7-3, forcing a winner-take-all game at 3:00 pm. The Lions made a statement in the final game by plating four runs in the top of the first en route to a 7-3 victory.
Mallory Kirchner started things by ripping a two-out RBI single up the middle to score Vanessa Piepszak, who had reached on a lead-off single. Nicole Fortino added a single to move Kirchner to second base and Stephanie Cuevas then stepped to the plate and smashed a three-run homer to push the lead to 4-0.
The Lions rallied again with two outs in the fourth inning as Ashley Wierema hit a single to score Stacey Ryan and Julie Sito. Both Ryan and Sito had reached base with singles.
Caldwell (34-17) gained some life in the top of the fifth as Jackie Velardi hit a two-out double to score Nicole Bodrog and Danielle Genovese, pulling the Cougars to within two (6-2). Caldwell scored once more on a sacrifice fly by Kyrie Timbrook, but they would get no closer against Sasko.
Sasko pitched in all four of the Lions' games in the tournament, going 3-1. In the championship game, Sasko gave up seven hits and three runs with one walk and three strikeouts.
In Caldwell's 7-3 victory in the first game against Georgian Court, sophomore pitcher Kristen de la Campa hurled a complete game while allowing only eight hits and one earned run. The Cougar offense was spearheaded by Bodrog, Velardi and Stacy Falkowski, who all collected two hits apiece. Velardi and Falkowski both blasted home runs, as did Genovese.
Nicole Fortino led the Lions with two RBI, while Kirchner went 2-for-4.
Caldwell advanced to the championship round after upending No. 3 Wilmington, 9-2, to start the day. The Cougars broke the game open with a 5-run third inning, during which Bodrog collected an RBI double and freshman 1B Brittni Frantellizzi drove in two runs with a double.
Caldwell senior right-hander Nicole Webb went 6.0 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits while fanning five and not walking a batter.
Sophomore catcher Kelly Schirmer provided both of Wilmington's (31-15) runs with a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth inning.
The full results of the tournament and the All-Tournament team are below.
May 3
Game 1 - #5 Post 2, #4 Bloomfield 1
Game 2 - #3 Wilmington 3, #6 Felician 2
Game 3 - #1 Georgian Court 3, #5 Post 1
Game 4 - #2 Caldwell 7, #3 Wilmington 5
Game 5 - #6 Felician 3, #4 Bloomfield 1
May 4
Game 6 - #6 Felician 9, #5 Post 0
Game 7 - #1 Georgian Court 4, #2 Caldwell 1
Game 8 - #3 Wilmington 6, #6 Felician 1
May 5
Game 9 - #2 Caldwell 9, #3 Wilmington 2
Game 10 - #2 Caldwell 7, #1 Georgian Court 3
Game 11 - #1 Georgian Court 7, #2 Caldwell 3
All-Tournament Team
Samantha Sasko, Georgian Court - MVP
Mallory Kirchner, Georgian Court
Ashley Wierema, Georgian Court
Heather Walker, Georgian Court
Vanessa Piepszak, Georgian Court
Nicole Bodrog, Caldwell
Alyssa Speno, Caldwell
Jackie Velardi, Caldwell
Stacy Falkowski, Caldwell
Katie Turner, Wilmington
Kelly Schirmer, Wilmington
Amanda Mucaria, Wilmington
Nicole Broecker, Felician
Heather Van Dyke, Felician
Caitlin McAveney, Post