ASTON, Pa. -The Neumann University softball team picked up two wins on the first day of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Championship. The Knights defeated Immaculata University and Cabrini College to advance to the Championship game on Saturday.
Neumann defeated Immaculata in walk-off fashion, 3-2, to start its day. Kara Grogan led the Knights with three RBI and two hits. Allie White had three hits and scored twice including the game-winning run. Lauren Wilkie pitched a complete game. She gave up two runs on six hits and struck out two.
Pitching and defense set the tempo for this game. Neumann got on the board first in the bottom of the third. White hit a one out single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Grogan doubled to drive in White for the first run of the game.
Immaculata took the lead in the top of the sixth with two runs on three hits.
Coming up for their last at bat, Katie Halter walked on fourth straight pitches to put the tying run on base. White singled to put runners on first and second. The runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt with one out. Grogan singled up the middle to drive in both runners to give the Knights the come-from-behind win.
Neumann used a big inning against Cabrini to advance to the championship game. White, Megan Williams and Marisa Giordano each had two hits for Neumann. Five Knights drove in a run. Haley Broomell pitched a complete game. She gave up two runs on eight hits and struck out three.
The game was scoreless for the first three and a half innings. The Knights' bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth as they started with four straight singles. With two runners on, Williams knocked in Sarah Murray for the first run of the game. Jamie Scannella followed with a single to drive in Becky Guinto. Williams came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Halter. White doubled and Giordano singled to drive in two more runs to extend Neumann's lead to 5-0.
Immaculata scored its only two runs of the game in the top of the seventh and had the tying run at the plate, but Neumann held on for the win.
Immaculata and Cabrini will face off against each other on Saturday to determine who advances to the championship game. The first pitch will be at 10:00 AM.
Neumann (29-7) will face the winner of the Immaculata-Cabrini game in the championship game on Saturday. First pitch is slated to be at 12:00 PM. A game at 2:00 PM will follow if necessary.
