WILMINGTON, North Carolina – UNCW used a seven-run outburst, including five runs in the fifth inning, to overcome an early deficit and secure a 7-5 victory over Elon in the Colonial Athletic Association softball series final at Boseman Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Seahawks, who took two of three games against the Phoenix, upped their record to 15-23 overall and 9-9 in the CAA. Elon, meanwhile, dipped to 17-19 overall with a 10-8 mark in league play.
Trailing by a 4-0 margin in the third inning, the Seahawks trimmed the deficit to 4-2 with a pair of runs. Junior
Jada Santiago plated a run with a single up the middle before sophomore
Jentri Meadows added another run when she reached base on an Elon throwing error.
UNCW used four hits and two Elon errors to score five times in the fifth inning to take a three-run advantage. After the Seahawks scored two runs on a single by junior
Logan Bjorson and Elon error to even the score, freshman
Stormi Nichols gave UNCW a 5-4 edge with an RBI ground out.
Senior
Anna Knox followed with a two-run single to right field, extending the margin to 7-4.
Elon narrowed its deficit to 7-5 in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by junior
Rebecca Murray, but Bjorson got the final out to nail down the victory.
Vitola, Bjorson and junior
Janel Gamache each registered two hits for the Seahawks in the victory. Bjorson also earned the win in the circle after allowing one unearned run on four hits over 5.1 innings, moving her record to 5-0.
Murray went 4-for-4 with a pair of runs batted in for the Phoenix. Redshirt junior
McKenzie Weber suffered the loss in the circle after conceding seven runs on nine hits with three walks over 5.0 innings.
Notes of Interest: UNCW and Elon combined to go 20-for-34 in advancement opportunities … Santiago has reached base in 11 consecutive games … Vitola, who has hit safely in four straight outings, authored her team-leading 14th multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort … She also finished the weekend series by hitting .500 (5-for-10) with three runs scored … Bjorson registered a 0.00 earned run average in the weekend series, allowing two unearned runs on eight hits over 10.1 innings … The Seahawks' four seniors –
Rylee Pate,
Ashley Marriner,
Hunter Bizzell and
Dominique Travers – were honored in a pregame ceremony … UNCW closes its home season with an 11-15 record.
Up Next: UNCW awaits the announcement of the CAA Championship bracket, which will be unveiled following the conclusion of the regular season next weekend.
