Sylvania, OH - The softball team won two very exciting games on the first day of the WHAC Tournament. In game one, Michigan-Dearborn, the three seed, took on the University of Northwestern Ohio Racers who were the sixth seed. The Wolverines opened the scoring in the second inning when Riley Hison (FR/Macomb Township, MI) singled in Sarah Prashad (FR/Mississauga, Ontario). Starting pitcher Alex Elwell (SR/Kalamazoo, MI) made the lead stick until the Racers tied it up in the sixth inning. With the score tied at one heading into the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Moceri (JR/Sterling Heights, MI) singled to open the inning. Valerie Bertani (SR/Westland, MI) then sacrificed her to second base. That set the stage for Jordan Ewald (SO/Wixom, MI) to end the game with a walk-off single, Elwell pitched a complete game allowing just one run and striking out four. The win advanced the softball team into the winner's bracket against Cornerstone University, who upset Madonna in the first round.
Cornerstone got out to a 1-0 lead in the third inning on back-to-back wild pitches by Michigan-Dearborn starter Gina Verduzco (SO/Portage, MI). Cornerstone added two more runs in the fifth inning. Michigan-Dearborn scored one run in the sixth inning on a Candace Kitchen (FR/Clarkston, MI) single. Trailing 3-1 in the seventh inning, Moceri once again got things going with a double. Pinch-hitter Riley Miller (SO/Birmingham, MI) singled, then control issues affected Cornerstone after Ewald was hit by a pitch and Prashad walked, scoring Moceri. Alexis Powell (SR/Canton, MI) doubled in two runs and Michigan-Dearborn would add another run taking a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Kitchen would hold Cornerstone in check as she got the win in relief of Verduzco, Kitchen pitched two and two-thirds of an inning of shutout softball to earn her seventh win of the season.
The softball team will face Davenport University in the winner's bracket at 4:30pm on Friday. The two teams faced off against each other in last year's championship game with Davenport winning 7-6. The winner of Friday's game secures themselves a spot in Monday's championship game.
