Cold Bats Eliminate Mavs from Tournament
May 1, 2004 | Softball
SAUK RAPIDS, Minn. - The third-ranked Mavericks were shut out twice Saturday and eliminated from the North Central Conference tournament with a third-place finish. In the semifinal St. Cloud State defeated the Mavs 1-0 in an 11-inning pitcher's dual and then Augustana erupted for a 9-0 win to knock UNO (47-9) out of the tournament.
In UNO's semifinal both teams were held to just four hits, but the Huskies took advantage of theirs in the 11th inning with a single, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single. Pitcher Cheris Kuster (19-5) went the distance for the Mavericks and struck out 11 batters and Kelsey Warning had two hits.
In the consolation final the Mavs were once again held to just four hits and pitcher Jenny Pritchard gave up six runs on seven hits in one plus innings. Taren Tuley pitched the remainder of the game and surrendered the final three runs. Pritchard lost for just the second time and fell to 17-2.
In four games at the NCC tournament the Mavs were held to only two runs and had given up only one until the Vikings scored nine.
St. Cloud defeated Augustana 2-0 in the championship game to claim its second straight title. Nicole Webb, who pitched the entire 11-inning win for the Huskies over UNO, had a perfect 0.00 ERA in the tournament.
The Mavericks will now await the NCAA's final regional ranking Monday to find out where they will go for the North Central regional. The top team in the region hosts the six-team tournament May 6-9. UNO was No. 1 in the April 28 poll, followed by Truman State. SCSU receives an automatic bid for its conference title.
In UNO's semifinal both teams were held to just four hits, but the Huskies took advantage of theirs in the 11th inning with a single, a sacrifice bunt and an RBI single. Pitcher Cheris Kuster (19-5) went the distance for the Mavericks and struck out 11 batters and Kelsey Warning had two hits.
In the consolation final the Mavs were once again held to just four hits and pitcher Jenny Pritchard gave up six runs on seven hits in one plus innings. Taren Tuley pitched the remainder of the game and surrendered the final three runs. Pritchard lost for just the second time and fell to 17-2.
In four games at the NCC tournament the Mavs were held to only two runs and had given up only one until the Vikings scored nine.
St. Cloud defeated Augustana 2-0 in the championship game to claim its second straight title. Nicole Webb, who pitched the entire 11-inning win for the Huskies over UNO, had a perfect 0.00 ERA in the tournament.
The Mavericks will now await the NCAA's final regional ranking Monday to find out where they will go for the North Central regional. The top team in the region hosts the six-team tournament May 6-9. UNO was No. 1 in the April 28 poll, followed by Truman State. SCSU receives an automatic bid for its conference title.
Players Mentioned
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OF/IF
/ SoftballTuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
