Box Score Box Score
There are 8 teams remaining with a chance to win the 2011 NAIA Softball National Championship, and for the first time in school history, Cal State San Marcos is among them.
Coach Dave Williams' #4-ranked Cougars defeated Bethel College 3-0 on Saturday, finishing pool play with a perfect 3-0 record and improving their season record to 43-9. #16-ranked Bethel is eliminated with a 2-1 record at Nationals and 38-8 overall record.
Pitcher Brenna Sandberg continued to be the story for the Cougars. Coming off a no-hitter on Saturday, the senior All-American was greeted with an infield single by the first batter she faced. It would be Bethel's only hit of the game.
Sandberg went the distance, throwing 7 innings of 1-hit, shutout ball, walking 1 and striking out 6. She pitched every inning of the team's three pool play games at Nationals, finishing with a ridiculous stat line: 20 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 28 K. Sandberg is now an NAIA-best 39-8 on the season.
At the plate, the Cougar lineup had trouble of its own off Bethel ace Giana Zimmerman, but in a scoreless game in the fifth inning, CSUSM's overwhelming speed and a little luck conspired to put the Cougars on top. A Kaitlin McGinley walk and Derrisha Lacey double put two runners in scoring position for CSUSM, and with two outs, Alex Miller hit a ground ball that was thrown wildly, allowing both runs to cross the plate.
The Cougars would add one more in the seventh, as Alicia Ingram singled in Patty Banda to make it 3-0.
Despite Sandberg's dominance, Bethel brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh thanks to back-to-back hit batters with two outs. But Sandberg would prevail, getting Holly Weaver to pop out to third baseman Heavin-Lee Rodriguez for the game's final out.
The tournament will take a day off on Sunday, then restart in 8-team double-elimination format on Monday. As winners of Pool D, CSUSM will square off against Shorter University at 10:00 AM CDT on Monday. Ranked #15 in the nation, Shorter won its pool in upset fashion over #4 Central Baptist (AR).
The winner of that game will play again on Monday at 12:30 PM CDT.
The full bracket is available online through the NAIA website: http://naia.cstv.com/sports/w-softbl/2011Championship.html
