Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 |
Box Score 3
The #2 ranked Cal State San Marcos Softball team advanced to the final four of the NAIA National Championships for the second straight season after a 4-0 victory over #4 Central Baptist (AR) Monday in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The game had been delayed due to thunderstorms in the area, but the Cougars prevailed despite the break in action to survive another day.
San Marcos lost against #10 Shorter (GA) earlier in the morning 4-3, but came back to defeat #6 William Carey (MS) 7-5 to advance to the game against Central Baptist. A.I.I. Player of the Year
Alyssa Dronenburg had a career day, going 5-for-8 with 3 home runs, 3 walks, and 4 RBIs.
CSUSM is the highest ranked team remaining, as #1 Concordia (CA) fell in extra innings on Saturday and was eliminated by #16 Brenau (GA), who is one of two remaining undefeated teams, along with #10 Shorter. The Cougars (55-5) will play #3 Oklahoma City on Tuesday at 12:30 local, or 10:30 PST. The Cougars will need two wins tomorrow to reach their first ever national title game, but a single loss eliminates them from the tournament.
Game 1 (Shorter 4- CSUSM 3)
Box Score
The Cougars got off to a great start courtesy of
Alyssa Dronenburg's 22
nd homerun of the season, giving CSUSM a 1-0 edge early.
Shorter responded back with two runs in the 3
rd on a single by shortstop Emily Clements to take their first lead, but Dronenburg homered again to even the score at 2.
Kaitlin McGinley hit an RBI single with two outs to bring in a run in the fifth, making the score 3-2, but Emily Clements came up big for Shorter once again, driving in two more runs with a homerun to left field, giving Shorter the lead once again.
San Marcos racked up two hits in the sixth but were not able to score, and
Alicia Ingram was thrown out at home plate trying to advance for the final out of the seventh. The Cougars fell to the loser's bracket with the loss in the double-elimination tournament.
Game 2 (CSUSM 7 – William Carey 5)
Box Score
The Cougars struck first early again on an RBI double by Sarah Quimbao in the second to take a 1-0 lead, but William Carey struck right back with four runs of their own so that CSUSM trailed 4-1 after two innings.
The resilient Cougars battled to tie the score at 4-4 in the fourth, highlighted by a 2 RBI single by
Kaitlin McGinley.
CSUSM took the lead 5-4 in the fifth on
Alyssa Dronenburg's third homerun of the day, and 24
th of the season – an opposite field shot to right with a full count.
Olivia Lucatuorto added another run on a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-4, but William Carey cut the lead to one in the bottom half of the fifth.
Sarah Quimbao added an insurance run in the 7
th with a sacrifice bunt that brought home Lucatuorto, and
Cortney Allen shut the door in the bottom half to secure the victory and advance San Marcos to a third game Monday against Central Baptist.
Game 3 (CSUSM 4 – Central Baptist 0)
Box Score
Cal State San Marcos advanced to the final four with a shutout victory over Central Baptist, led by
Cortney Allen's 11 strikeout performance. Allen allowed just 4 hits, and improved to 24-5 on the season with the victory.
Alyssa Dronenburg drove in the game's first run with an RBI single to bring home
Alicia Ingram in the 3
rd inning. CSUSM tacked on another run in the fourth on a single by
Brittany Grier to make the score 2-0.
The score remained that way until the sixth inning, when a thunderstorm delayed the game for several hours. Upon restarting the game, San Marcos exploded with two more runs in the top of the seventh to essentially lock up the victory, and clinching a Top-4 finish for the second straight season.