Game 6: McDaniel 9, Washington College 0
McDaniel was the top team after the Centennial Conference (CC) regular season and was rewarded with the top seed and hosting rights for the 2012 championship tournament. On Sunday, the squad proved it again with a 9-0, six-inning victory over No. 2 seed Washington (Md.) to claim its third title overall and first since 2004.
Led by its three seniors and a grad student offensively in the title game, the Green Terror (27-12) became just the fourth top seed in the 12 tournaments to hold serve and win the title on its own field. McDaniel was also the first team to record a run-rule victory in the championship game.
Keyed by a 3-for-4, five-RBI, two-run performance from one of its seniors Jordan Beans (Hanover, Pa./Hanover), McDaniel rapped out 14 hits to go with its nine runs while freshman Caroline Brehm (Hanover, Pa./New Oxford) twirled her second shutout of the tournament to go with eight strikeouts.
Rachel Sidney (East Meadow, N.Y./East Meadow) added three hits while seniors Erinne Warrenfeltz (Smithsburg, Md./Middletown) and Lauren Fusco (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) each had two hits to help the Green Terror to the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The tournament selection show is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday on NCAA.com, where McDaniel will hear to which of the eight regional sites it will travel. The eight-team, double-elimination regionals open play on Thursday.
Kylie Nottingham, Christine Anderson, Suzanne Patinella and Brittany Walter each had a single hit for the Shorewomen (21-20), who defeated Gettysburg 2-0 in the Sunday morning elimination game to reach their first championship game.
Once again playing as the visiting team on its own field, Sidney led off the game, crushing an 0-2 pitch to the fence in right-center for a double.
With two outs, Warrenfeltz singled her home before Jackie Liebowitz (Bellerose, N.Y./Benjamin N. Cordozo) and Tracy Davis (Christiansburg, Va./Christiansburg) each singled to score Warrenfeltz for a 2-0 lead.
Fusco slapped a one-out single up the middle before Sidney singled to left to put runners at first and second.
With two outs, Beans rocketed a 1-2 line drive over the fence in left chase the Washington starter and stake Brehm to a 5-0 lead after an inning and a half.
Beans and Warrenfeltz led off the fifth with back-to-back singles before a Davis sacrifice fly pushed the lead to 6-0.
Beth Ann Fusco (Laurel, Md./St. Vincent Pallotti) led off the sixth with a double into the left-field corner before scoring on her sister's single up the middle one batter later.
A Sidney single up the middle put runners at first and second before an Amy Baumgardner (Hanover, Pa./South Western) single and Beans two-run double put the Green Terror in position to end the game early.
On her 19th birthday, Brehm retired the side in order on a fly out, popup and ground ball to shortstop.
Game 5: Washington College 2, Gettysburg 0
Washington College downed Gettysburg, 2-0, in the first game of the day to reach the championship round of the Centennial Conference Softball Tournament and needed to down McDaniel twice to win its first-ever championship, but fell in the first game of the championship round to McDaniel, 9-0, in six innings due to the eight-run rule. McDaniel wins its first conference crown since 2004 and receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Green Terror improve to 27-12 on the season, while the Shorewomen conclude their campaign at 21-20. The 21 victories for WC ties the 1997 and 2011 squads for wins in a season. It was the first time that the Shorewomen Nine reached the final round of the conference tournament.