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Lady Falcons Face Winston-Salem State In Elimination Bracket Friday
PETERSBURG, Va. (May 4) – On Thursday, No. 2 Southern Division seed Saint Augustine's University advanced to the second day of the CIAA Championship Tournament at the Petersburg Sports Complex. The Lady Falcons are one of six teams remaining in the double-elimination tournament.
The Lady Falcons (16-13 overall) began the day with an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over No. 3 Northern Division seed Virginia State University in the first round. Akera McPhaul (Jr./Greensboro, NC) smacked a walk-off single up the middle which scored Tamiera Sanchez (Fr./Sacramento, CA) to end the game.
The win sent the Lady Falcons to the winner's bracket where they fell 10-0 to Northern Division top seed Chowan University. The loss dropped the Lady Falcons to the elimination bracket where they take on No. 4 Southern Division seed Winston-Salem State University Friday, May 5 at 10 a.m., weather permitting.
In the opening-round game, the Lady Falcons led 2-0 in the first inning on Haley Sessoms (Fr./Kenansville, NC) solo home run over the center field fence and Meranda Zanni's (Sr./Phoenix, OR) single which scored Haili Pettifer (Jr./Langley, British Columbia).
The Trojans scored one run in the third but the Lady Falcons answered back in the same inning when Pettifer scored Sessoms on a single for a 3-1 lead. The Trojans added another run in the fourth inning but the Lady Falcons opened a 5-2 lead in the fifth when Makayla August (Fr./Palm Springs, CA) scored Marley Parker (Jr./Langley, British Columbia) on a double and Zanni scored August on a single.
The lead evaporated when the Trojans scored five runs in the sixth. The deficit could have been bigger but left fielder Korey Hill (Sr./Virginia Beach, VA) saved a run with a spectacular over the shoulder catch near the fence.
Suddenly, the Lady Falcons trailed 7-5 but they chipped away at the margin in the last two innings. In the sixth, Parker scored McPhaul on a double to pull the Lady Falcons within one.
After holding the Trojans scoreless in the top of the seventh, the Lady Falcons struck in the bottom half of the inning. August started the inning with a triple and stole home on the same at-bat when she noticed that home plate was uncovered. Her score tied the game which set the stage for McPhaul's game-winning RBI.
One of the top hitting teams in the nation, the Lady Falcons tallied 12 hits against the Trojans. August was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, one RBI and two runs scored and Zanni was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. McPhaul, the CIAA batting leader, was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored and Sessoms had a home run, one RBI and two runs scored.
Zanni pitched the final two innings in relief to gain the win. She had two strikeouts, no walks and no runs allowed to improve to 6-2.
For the Trojans, who were later eliminated, Marissa Hughes was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored and Demone Brickhouse was 4-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.
In the second game, the Lady Falcons were held to three hits in the loss. The trio of McPhaul, Jasmine Rios (Jr./Greensboro, NC) and Hill each had a hit for the Lady Falcons. Tina White had two RBIs for the Hawks, who collected five hits. Kayla Robbins, ranked third in Division II in strikeouts, recorded 10 strikeouts and no walks.
