After a slight rain delay Saturday, Virginia Wesleyan surged to the championship of its NCAA Division III regional in Virginia Beach by shutting out Lebanon Valley of Pennsylvania 8-0.
Emma Adams (22-2) pitched a five-inning two hitter, giving her victories in all three of the eighth-ranked Marlins’ regional games. VWU (38-8) scored three runs in the first inning and five in the third.
Alison Pollack was 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a run, Sarah Prosser was 3 for 3 with two runs, and Laci Campbell was 1 for 2 with a run, two RBIs and a walk.
Virginia Wesleyan advanced to a best-of-three Super Regional (round-of-16) matchup next week against Muskingum of New Concord, Ohio, at a site to be announced.
More Division III regionals
Christopher Newport 6, Pfeiffer 4: The third-ranked Captains (33-5) completed a 3-0 run through the Newport News Regional and extended their winning streak to 18, overcoming the 13th-ranked Falcons (45-5) after a rain delay Saturday.
The lead seesawed through the first three innings, after which nobody scored. CNU leadoff batter Candace Slaw was 3 for 4 with two runs, and Delaney Nuckols was 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a run. Nuckols’ two-run double to center field broke a 4-4 tie.
Kate Alger shook off early struggles to pitch a complete game for CNU, which will play Rowan in a Super Regional at a site and time to be announced.
Salisbury 4, Randolph-Macon 3: The Yellow Jackets (33-7-2), who entered the NCAA Tournament ranked 11th nationally, were ousted by a No. 4 Sea Gulls team that went 3-0 in the bracket on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Tabb High graduate Jordan Brown was 3 for 3 with an RBI for R-MC, and Amanda Lanyon scored twice and was 1 for 3.Salisbury (39-5) went ahead 4-1 with a three-run fourth. The Jackets scored in the sixth and seventh but left the potential tying run stranded at second base.
Roanoke 3, Muskingum 1: The Maroons forced a decisive Game 7 in Moravian’s regional in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They trailed 1-0 before Lilly Burns launched a three-run home opener in the fifth inning, scoring Tallwood High product Adriana Rivera and Grafton High graduate Kate Houle ahead of her.
Baylee Compton struck out six in 5 2/3 shutout innings of relief for the victory.
Muskingum 4, Roanoke 1: The Muskies (31-14) won the decisive game over the Maroons (33-16) as Tareyn Born pitched a two-hitter and hit a solo home run in a four-run first inning off Compton. Bethany Rodman clubbed a three-run homer.Rivera singled and scored Roanoke’s run in the sixth.
NCAA Division I regionals
No. 6 UCLA 7, Virginia Tech 6: The Hokies, one of the nation’s top home-run-hitting teams, endured a heartbreaking loss at the Los Angeles Regional as the Bruins overcame deficits of 4-0 and 6-5 to move into Sunday’s finals.
Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate Addy Greene was 3 for 4 for the second consecutive game for Tech. She scored twice and drove in two runs.
Tech’s Cori McMillan clubbed a three-run homer in the first inning.
In the seventh, Greene singled with one out, advanced on Cameron Fagan’s single and a wild pitch and scored on Teagan Thrunk’s single, though Fagan was thrown out the plate by the right fielder to keep UCLA’s deficit at one run.
Tech never got an out in the bottom of the seventh. A walk, Jordan Woolery’s tying triple and Savannah Pola’s walk-off RBI single ended the game. Shortstop Maya Brady, legendary quarterback Tom Brady’s niece, had two of the Bruins’ 12 hits.
Grand Canyon 4, Virginia Tech 1: The Hokies were eliminated shortly after 2 a.m. Eastern on Sunday after being shut down in the clutch by Antelopes pitcher Meghan Golden.
Tech’s Emma Mazzarone struck out nine in six innings but took a complete-game defeat.
Addy Greene’s sacrifice fly brought home Annika Rohs with Virginia Tech’s run in the fifth, but the Hokies twice left two runners on base and left the bases loaded in the fifth.
Kayla Rodgers hit a two-run, two-out double in the first inning, and Katelyn Dunckel clubbed a solo home run in the fourth to put Grand Canyon ahead 3-0. Savannah Groshong-Kirk scored on a wild pitch in the sixth.
The Lopes will face UCLA at 6 p.m. Sunday, with the Bruins needing one win to advance and Grand Canyon needing two.
Tennessee 12, Virginia 0: The host Volunteers, seeded third nationally in the Division I tourney, routed the Cavaliers in 4 1/2 innings in the Knoxville Regional to advance to the finals.
Rylie West, Sophia Nugent, Kiki Milloy and Taylor Pannell slugged home runs for Tennessee. Milloy scored three runs, and Pannell, McKenna Gibson and Zaida Puni scored twice apiece.
Bella Cabral, Abby Weaver and Sarah Coon had the Cavaliers’ only hits as winner Payton Gottshall pitched a shutout. Mikayla Houge took the loss, yielding six earned runs, eight hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings.
Virginia 6, Miami of Ohio 0: The Cavaliers bounced back to earn a rematch with Tennessee as Eden Bigham shut out the RedHawks for the second consecutive day. This time, she pitched a one-hitter, walking one and striking out seven.
Great Bridge High graduate Lauren VanAssche was 1 for 3 with a run, Jade Hylton launched a solo homer, and Shelby Barbee expanded the lead to 4-0 with a three-run homer in the fifth.
UVA will face Tennessee at 4 p.m. Sunday and needs two straight victories to advance to a Super Regional.
Liberty 7, No. 11 Georgia 3: The Flames broke a 3-3 tie with a four-run fourth inning in Athens, Georgia.
The Flames (38-23) won their sixth game in a row, advancing to Sunday’s regional finals at 2 p.m. They will have two chances to beat the Bulldogs again and advance to a Super Regional against the Los Angeles Regional champ.
Liberty’s key hits included Brooke Roberts’ two-run homer to right in the second and Brynn McManus’ three-run double in the fourth.
The Flames continued their momentum from Friday’s 6-3 triumph against Charlotte.
Clemson 8, USC Upstate 0: The Tigers extended their season by shutting out the Spartans in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as Alex Brown was 2 for 3 and scored twice. Regan Spencer pitched five innings and Millie Thompson threw one of a combined two-hitter.
Southeastern Louisiana 6, Clemson 2: SLU ousted the Tigers, beating them for the second day in a row by the same score in Tuscaloosa.
Clemson two-way star Valerie Cagle, who grew up in Yorktown, played first base and was 0 for 3, ending her season with a .331 batting average.
Ka’lyn Watson was SLU’s catalyst, going 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs to help her team advance to the regional finals against Alabama.
