Softball
Lauren Ely drew a two-out walk to get things started in the eighth for Flagler. She took second on a wild pitch and Robyn Draper ripped a triple to the gap in rightcenter to give Flagler a 2-1 lead. Collings followed with a single to plate Draper and pinch runner Becca Millage later scored on an error. Katie Enright (9-4) tossed a complete game and scattered nine hits and allowed one run. She retired 14 batters on ground outs.
UCO added another in the second for insurance. Hannah Justus led off the inning with a bunt single in front of the plate. She moved to second on a sacrifice and advanced to third on a ground out. A walk gave the Bronchos runners at the corners and Kayce Raines singled to right to plate Justus. That’s all Rachael Steverson (27-5) would need. She went the distance and scattered seven hits and allowed just two runs. Steverson induced 14 ground outs. She retired the last seven batters in a row.
Draper had two of Flagler’s six hits, scored a run and drove in one.
Edwards singled twice and scored a run while Devyn Frazier collected a pair of singles for the Bronchos.
Dickie (21-1) took the loss for North Georgia. She allowed six hits and two earned runs.
Donna Munafo (20-7) took the loss in the circle for the Saints. She surrendered eight hits and four runs
Harden singled twice for North Georgia. Flagler will be making its first-ever appearance in the national championships. The Saints are in their fourth year as a program and advanced to the regionals last season. Box Score
NCAA World Series: No. 2 Central Oklahoma strikes early and holds off Flagler, 4-2
(5/16/12) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Megan Whitmire socked a 2-2 pitch over the left-center field wall in the first inning to give No. 2 (NFCA Division II Top 25) University of Central Oklahoma a 3-0 lead and then held on for a 4-2 win in the first round of the NCAA Division II Softball National Championships Wednesday evening at Knights Field. Central Oklahoma improved to 45-7 while Flagler fell to 39-19.
Draper went 2-for-2 with a run scored for Flagler. Box Score
NCAA World Series: Flagler Ends NCAA Run with 5-2 Loss to St. Joseph’s (5/17/12) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Flagler College committed five errors, the most since a Mar. 3 loss vs. LenoirRhyne University, and were eliminated from the NCAA Division II Softball Championships after a 5-2 loss to Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana Thursday afternoon at Knights Field. Flagler wraps up its season at 39-20 while Saint Joseph’s lives to fight another day and improved to 40-20. Saint Joe’s will face the defending national champion, UC San Diego, at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow in another elimination game. The Saints broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Tori Jolley hit a two-run double to right-center.
NFCA All-America selection Nathalie Timmermans drew a two-out walk in the top of the first to get things started for the Bronchos. Kacie Edwards followed with a single up the middle and then Whitmire hit the home run. Lauren Roudabush and Robyn Draper sandwiched a pair of bunt singles around a sacrifice hit by Lauren Ely to put runners on the corner for the Saints. Breezy Collings grounded out to second to bring Roudabush home and Alona Personius singled home Ely and Flagler was right back in the game, 3-2.
That looked like all Flagler would need, but three costly errors was all it took in the sixth inning to see the lead turn into a deficit. Kylie Weeks led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error by Alona Personius. Stephanie Winter hit a sharp grounder to short where Lauren Bessent fielded the ball cleanly, but on the force attempt at second base, she threw the ball away. A wild pitch allowed the runners to move up a base but when Robyn Draper threw down to third to catch Weeks, the ball sailed into the
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