Lady Falcons Are Division's No. 2 Seed In CIAA Tournament After Doubleheader Losses To Fayetteville State

RALEIGH, NC (April 30) – On Sunday, Saint Augustine's University locked up second place in the CIAA Southern Division after dropping two games to Fayetteville State University at Seabrook Park in Fayetteville, N.C. The scores were 5-3 in the first game and 11-6 in the second game.

The Lady Falcons (7-3 Southern Division, 15-12 overall) are the No. 2 Southern Division seed entering the CIAA Championship Tournament on May 4-6 in Petersburg, Va. They open against the No. 3 Northern Division seed which will either be Virginia State University or Virginia Union University.

The Southern Division title was on the line Sunday when the Lady Falcons visited the Lady Broncos (9-1 Southern Division, 21-15 overall). They were co-division leaders heading into the last doubleheader of the regular season.

In the first game, the Lady Falcons nearly rallied from a five-run deficit in the top of the seventh inning. Down 5-0, the Lady Falcons scored twice when Meranda Zanni (Sr./Phoenix, OR) doubled in Haili Pettifer (Jr./Langley, British Columbia) and Korey Hill (Sr./Virginia Beach, VA) singled in Zanni.

With momentum on the Lady Falcons side, Akera McPhaul (Jr./Greensboro, NC) smacked a single to center field with runners on first and second with two outs. Her hit scored Tamiera Sanchez (Fr./Sacramento, CA) and moved Hill to third but McPhaul was out attempting a double on a controversial call. It appeared she clearly beat the throw to second base from center field. The out ended the game and gave the Lady Broncos the victory.

Sanchez was 2-for-3 with one run scored and Parker was 2-for-3 for the Lady Falcons, who had seven hits. Courtney Pierre was 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and one run scored for the Lady Broncos, who had eight hits.

In the second game, the Lady Falcons had a shot at sharing the division crown but an early lead slipped away. They led 2-0 in the first inning when Parker scored Jasmine Rios (Jr./Greensboro, NC) on a double and Makayla August (Fr./Sacramento, CA) scored Parker on a single.

Another run was added in the second inning when McPhaul scored Hill on a single. The Lady Broncos pulled within 3-2 with two runs in the bottom second but the Lady Falcons struck again in the third inning with two runs. August, ranked second nationally in Division II in triples per game, scored Pettifer on a triple and Zanni scored August on a single.

The Lady Broncos rallied in the fourth inning, tying the score 5-5 with three runs. They added six runs in the bottom sixth for an 11-5 lead which put the Lady Falcons in a tough situation. The Lady Falcons scored one run in the top seventh when Pettifer singled in Haley Sessoms (Fr./Kenansville, NC). But with two outs and the bases loaded, the Lady Broncos caught a line drive near third base for the final out.

McPhaul was 3-for-3 with one RBI and August was 2-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and one run scored for the Lady Falcons, who totaled 12 hits. Pettifer was 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. For the Lady Broncos, Kortni Adams was 4-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored. The Lady Broncos tallied 14 hits.

Though the Lady Falcons fell short of their title quest, the regular season was a success. They placed two spots higher than last season when they finished fourth in the division.