May 25, 2010

DECATUR, Ala. - With two runners on and a 2-0 count, William Carey's (Miss.) Judy Barber got hold of a Sarah Burns' pitch and sent it sailing over the left-field fence in what proved to be the deciding factor in the Lady Crusaders' 3-2 win over Belhaven (Miss.) in the losers bracket of the 2010 NAIA Softball National Championship Tuesday at Wilson Morgan Softball Complex.

William Carey (44-14) will square off against defending national champion California Baptist (63-3) in the quarterfinals of the losers bracket at 7:30 p.m. CDT. Belhaven's first trip to the national championship comes to a close with a record of 4-2 and end their season at 54-10.

Pitchers on both sides of the diamond had complete game efforts. Anna Ard (14-4) logged the win, scattering four Lady Crusader hits and gave up two earned runs. She walked a pair and struck out five. The loss was charged to junior Sarah Burns, allowing three earned runs on five hits. She also issued two free passes and fanned five.

Belhaven went up to bat first and scored first. Christina Jaques reached on a fielder's choice as the game's third batter and advanced by stealing second. Tiffany Ansely followed in order with a single through the hole at short to drive Jaques home.

Barber's third-inning bomb put the Lady Crusaders up 3-1 and that would be the last of William Carey's offense. The side was retired in the fourth and Tan Mongomery was caught stealing in the fifth to go along with two groundouts. One runner was left stranded in the sixth.

It was the bat of Jaques that drove a double to deep left field to score Jessica Eggold, who had been issued a free pass as the previous batter, for Belhaven's second run of the game in the top of the sixth inning.