Game #6: #3 LIU Brooklyn 10, #2 Quinnipiac 5
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Moon Township, PA -- #2 Quinnipiac struck first but it was #3 LIU Brooklyn who flew away with the victory and the program's 13th Northeast Conference Softball Championship as the Blackbirds posted a 10-5 victory over the Bobcats in Moon Township on Saturday afternoon. LIU earned the NEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s World Series.
On the wheels of Tournament MVP Sterling Hoham (Norco, CA/Riverside Christian) two runs, two hits and RBI, and the pitching of Cassie Vondrak (Carson City, NV/Western Nevada College), the Blackbirds earned their 25th victory of the season and NEC Tournament title number nine for coach Roy Kortmann. LIU pounded out 12 hits on the afternoon.
Hoham, a senior shortstop, hit .545 and drove in four runs on the weekend.
Vondrak, who was named to the All-Tournament team, went five innings in the championship game to earn her third victory of the tournament and improve to 12-6 in her sophomore season. On the weekend, she allowed just two earned runs over and 16 hits over 19 innings of work and struck out 11 batters. Against the Bobcats, she gave up five runs, but only two were earned as Megan Sheaf (York, PA/Susquehannock) came on in the sixth to pitch two scoreless innings to earn the save.
Christy Cabrera (West Sacramento, CA/River City) wasted no time getting the Bobcats on the board in the first after she laced a double to leftfield. She advanced to third on a Jacquie Ristow (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos) sacrifice then headed home on Alex Alba's (Sylmar, CA/Sylmar) RBI single.
In the bottom of the third frame the LIU (25-33) bats came to life. Madison Green (Tulare, CA/San Joaquin Memorial) and Megan Sheaf (York, PA/Susquehannock) each drew walks and advanced when Karina Cervantes (Tustin, CA/Mater Dei) reached on an error to load the bases. Paris Shipp (Westlake, CA/Thousand Lakes) then stepped to the plate and delivered a single to right to bring home Green and Sheaf, giving the Blackbirds their first runs of the game and the 2-1 lead. Nichole Toven (Northridge, CA/Chatsworth) then posted an RBI single up the middle to bring around another run.
Quinnipiac (32-18) regain the lead in the top of the fifth. The two-out rally started when Lauren Salgado (Covina, CA/Bishop Amat Memorial) reached on an arror. Cabrera sent the junior to second with a single to left. Ristow then stepped to the plate and drove Salgado home with an RBI single. After driving in a run in the first, Alba drilled one to the gap in right, plating Cabrera and Ristow. The double gave Alba three RBIs on the afternoon and the Bobcats a 4-3 advantage.
But in the fifth the Blackbirds began to lay it on. With one out, Toven popped one down the leftfield line for a single, and it was followed by base hits from Madison Zymkowitz (West Hills, CA/Chaminade) and Hoham to loaded the bases. With two outs, Emily Kakuska (Fontana, CA/ A.B. Miller) then sent one to left for a ground rule double to bring home Toven and Zymkowitz. The Blackbirds still weren’t done though as Sheaf sent a chopper down the leftfield line to score Hoham and Lindsey Walker (Littleton, CO/Mullen), who came into pinch run for Kaksuka, giving LIU a 7-4 cushion.
Quinnipiac wouldn’t go away in the sixth as the Bobcats loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Barba came across the plate after a Bridget Figmic (Stratford, CT/St. Joseph) sac fly to center to pull QU to within 7-5. Sheaf quelled the attempted rally when she struck out Salgado with a runner on second.
The Blackbirds broke it open in the bottom of the sixth as three more LIU runs came across the plate. Cervantes singled and reached second on Shipp's sacrifice bunt, then advanced another 90 feet after Toven flew out to center. Zymkowitz singled to left to score Cervantes. Hoham smacked a base hit to center and advanced to second on the throw, giving Zymkowitz time to cross home. Rodriguez then tripled down the right field line to score Hoham to give the Blackbirds a near insurmountable 10-5 lead heading into the final frame.
Quinnipiac went down one-two-three in the seventh.
It was a joint effort on the mound for the Bobcats as Heather Schwartzburg (Mission Viejo, CA/Capistrano Valley) and Katie Alfiere (Beacon Falls, CT/Woodland Regional) combined to pitch five, with Cabrera coming in to collect the final three outs in the sixth for the Bobcats.
The Blackbirds will learn their first round opponent in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night during the selection show that will air live on ESPNU at 10:00 pm.
2012 NEC Softball All-Tournament Team
Emily Hoham, LIU, MVP
Emily Kakuska, LIU
Cassie Vondrak, LIU
Heather Schwartzburg, QU
Christy Cabrera, QU
Ashley Heiberger, QU
Nicole Slieth, RMU
Jaci Timko, RMU
Chelsea Paprocki, MU
2012 Northeast Conference Softball Championships
Hosted by Robert Morris University -
Moon Township, PA
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