WILMINGTON, Del. - - Sydney Hatch hit a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to send the Wilmington University softball team back into the NCAA Division II East Super Regionals, defeating Goldey-Beacom, 1-0, in game seven of the NCAA East Region 2 Tournament on Sunday at the Jackson Athletic Complex.
It is the fourth year in a row the Wildcats (35-17) will be playing for the East Region Championship and are two-time defending East Region Champions. This year, the No. 2 seeded Wildcats will head to No. 1 Pace University for the best-of-three series. Pace defeated No. 4 Bentley on Sunday to advance to their first ever Super Regional.
The best-of-three series begins Thursday, May 15, at noon in Pleasantville, New York.
On Sunday, freshman Sydney Hatch played the hero in the bottom of the eighth, but it was freshman Maddie Vollmar that got them there in the circle. She left runners on second and third with only one out in the first two innings and then left another runner on third with less than two outs in the fifth. She left two more on in both the sixth and seventh innings and then worked around a one-out single in the eighth.
The offense left two on in the bottom of the first and then Tristyn Stewart reached second with one out in the third but was left stranded. Vollmar hit a leadoff single in the sixth but was left at first and then Eve Serrato was left at second in the seventh.
The Lightning starter Caitlyn Burch got the first two batters our in the eighth but then gave up a walk to Haley Grygo. Bella Barnes hit a single into right to put runners on the corners and then Sydney Hatch hooked one over the head of the third baseman and into left, sending the Wildcats into a frenzy.
Maddie Vollmar improved to 5-1 on the year with the win, allowing nine hits and a walk. She struck out three in the win. Bella Barnes went 2-for-4 while four other Wildcats had one each hit.
The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the NCAA Division II Softball Championships in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be one of the final eight teams remaining.