MEDFORD, MA (May 21, 2023) – In a dramatic finish to Game 7 of the NCAA DIII Softball Championship Medford, Mass. Regional, Moravian University took a 4-1 victory over Tufts University at Spicer Field on Sunday.
The game had been halted on Saturday due to rain with the Greyhounds leading 1-0 in the top of the seventh. When play resumed today, Tufts scored in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 1-1. In the eighth, Moravian scored three runs and then saw the Jumbos bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the inning before Tournament Most Outstanding Player Sarah DeStefano got the final out on a fly ball to center.
The Greyhounds (35-9) move on to the NCAA Super Regionals May 26-27 against MIT. The Jumbos' season ends with a 40-6 record, the most victories by the team since 2015 and the sixth time in program history a Tufts team has reached 40 victories.
On Saturday, Moravian sophomore 1B Lindsey Gawrys had hit a solo home run with two outs in the top of the first for a 1-0 Greyhounds lead. Otherwise, it was a pitcher's duel between DeStefano and Tufts'
Sky Johnson with three hits combined in the game through six innings. Rain forced the game to be suspended in the top of the seventh.
Resuming today, Johnson retired the Greyhounds 1-2-3 with two strikeouts in the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Jumbo first-year 1B
Haley Leimbach led off with a hard-hit single up the middle and then senior DP
Nicole Russo did the same. After a force-out at second, the Greyhounds cut down a run at plate for the second out. However, Jumbo senior LF
Kat Yuzefpolsky delivered a single through the left side scoring senior LF
Michelle Adelman with the tying run (1-1). With the winning run on second, DeStefano got a strike out to end the frame.
Into the eighth, Greyhound sophomore 3B Holly Walter singled with one out to get the three-run inning started. After a Tufts error, senior pitcher
Sophia DiCocco entered for the Jumbos. Gawrys doubled to the gap in right-center scoring Walter for a 2-1 Moravian advantage. First-year catcher Marcie Silberman then hit a sharp grounder to Leimbach who threw home, but Moravian junior LF Marcie Zettlemoyer was able to get back to third safely. That loaded the bases, then sophomore RF Sarah Snyder walked tor a third Greyhound run and with two outs a swinging bunt single by DeStefano scored the fourth Moravian run.
In Tufts' eighth, DeStefano retired the first two hitters before senior 3B
Rachel Moore doubled and Leimbach walked. With the tying run at the plate, DeStefano got a fly out to center to clinch the Regional title for the Greyhounds.
Over the course of the two days, DeStefano went eight innings allowing five hits and one run. She had shut out Tufts on two hits in Game 3 of the tournament on Friday. Gawrys, named to the All-Tournament team, finished Game 7 at 2 for 4 with two runs and two rbis. Marcie Silberman and sophomore Madi Cunningham also made the All-Tournament team for the Greyhounds.
Johnson took the loss for Tufts, giving up three hits and one earned run in 7.1 innings. DiCocco would go two-thirds of an inning allowing two hits and one run. She and senior SS
Josie Steinberg and Yuzefpolsky made the All-Tournament team for Tufts.
--JUMBOS--
