Susquehanna Finishes Magical Season with 2-2 Performance at NCAA Championships

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Susquehanna University split a pair of games on its final day of a 2010 NCAA Division III softball regional at Christopher Newport University's Captains Park on May 15.

No. 3-seeded Susquehanna (34-13 overall) started the day by defeating No. 5-seeded Greensboro College (28-15-1 overall) in the losers bracket, 2-1. Greensboro was eliminated from this double-elimination regional.

Susquehanna, meanwhile, advanced to the next round of the losers bracket, where it narrowly lost to top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 3 Salisbury University (36-3 overall), 1-0. Susquehanna was thus eliminated as well.

Salisbury earned the right to face Susquehanna by way of an 8-2 elimination of No. 6-seeded Frostburg State University (30-16 overall) earlier on May 15.

The Crusaders scored twice with two outs in the bottom of the second inning against Greensboro and then held the Pride scoreless until the sixth inning.

Freshman Sarah Hoffman (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing Valley) earned her 14th pitching win this season (14-5) by scattering five hits over the first five innings and allowing just one run on no walks and two strikeouts.

Junior Bryn Whitmire (Lederach, Pa./Souderton Area) threw the final two scoreless innings to pick up her Susquehanna-record third save this season. Whitmire allowed just two hits and gave up no walks. (Three Crusaders--including Hoffman this year--have picked up two saves in one season.) Whitmire's four career saves are tied for the school record with the four put up by Kristen Hogan '01 from 1998 to 2001.

Whitmire entered the game with the Pride down by a run in the sixth inning and with runners on second and third bases with no outs, but she got the next three batters out on fly balls to extinguish the threat.

Greensboro had another great chance to tie the game in the seventh inning when its first two batters singled with no outs. The next batter then tried to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but junior infielder Brennan Balfour (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) caught the bunt attempt in the air at third base and then doubled off the Greensboro runner at first.

The next batter then popped up to Whitmire to end the game.

Susquehanna's senior outfielder Deanna Anderson (Coal Twp., Pa./Shamokin Area) recorded a game-high two hits (in three at bats).

Teammate and senior catcher Kelli Holota (Spring Lake, N.J./Livingston) doubled and scored a run in a 1-for-3 game. The double was the 31st of Holota's career, which ties the Crusaders record held by Megan McCurley '08, who played at Susquehanna from 2005 to 2008, and it came in Holota's 425th career at bat, which breaks the school record of 424 at bats by Tennille Shenk '99 Good, who played at Susquehanna from 1996 to 1999.

With runners on second and third bases in the second inning, sophomore infielder Kate Reese (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) singled to leftfield to drive home Holota for the game's first run. Reese finished the game batting 1-for-2.

Later in the same inning, junior infielder/pitcher Kim Rubino (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany), who reached base on a single, scored on another single by sophomore outfielder Sarah Dowzicky (Collegeville, Pa./Germantown Academy) for the eventual game-winning run. Rubino and Dowzicky both went 1-for-2 against Greensboro.

The Crusaders almost pulled off their biggest upset ever against Salisbury, but the Sea Gulls scored the only run of that game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Salisbury will now play No. 4-seeded and nationally ranked No. 7 Messiah College (37-8 overall) on May 16 at 2 p.m. The winner of that game will meet No. 2-seeded and nationally ranked No. 11 Christopher Newport (39-8 overall) in this regional's championship round at approximately 4 p.m. that same day. Messiah's ladies are the defending Division III champions.

Junior Cara Swerdlow (Bloomfield, N.J./Bloomfield) suffered the loss against Salisbury to finish 2010 with an 18-8 record.

With one out in the seventh, Swerdlow hit a batter to load the bases. The next batter then hit a ground ball that was fielded by junior infielder Taylor Crawford (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley HS) at second base. Crawford threw home to try to prevent the winning run, but the runner from third scored just ahead of the throw.

Swerdlow allowed just three hits and three walks against Salisbury and struck out seven batters while completing her 20th game of the season. The 20 complete games break her own school single-season record of 19 from last year.

Swerdlow finished 2010 with 158 strikeouts, second-most in school single-season history behind only her 196 from last year and just ahead of her 156 from 2008.

The Crusaders actually outhit Salisbury, 5-3, including a game-high two hits (in three at bats) from Balfour.

Rubino went 1-for-2 with a walk. Holota and teammate and sophomore outfielder Lisa Finizio (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) each went 1-for-3.

"We did a great job today," said Head Coach Kathy Kroupa, leader of the 2009 and 2010 Landmark Conference Coaching Staffs of the Year. "And we played some phenomenal teams here. It was a great experience.

"I feel that we proved ourselves and gained a lot of respect. I'm really proud of the way that we competed all season long. It was an unbelievable season and a tremendous step forward for SU softball."

Susquehanna finished with a 2-2 record at this regional in its first appearance in the NCAA championships. Its 34 wins in 2010 are easily a program record. The 1998 Crusaders were the previous record-holders with 26 wins (26-14).

End of season

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