Box Score Box Score
Postgame Interview
MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The Susquehanna softball team took the field four hours later than it had initially planned for its NCAA first-round game against Farmingdale State but it was well worth the wait as the team won on a walk-off hit from Alyssa Cantalini (Kitchener, Ontario/St. David Catholic Secondary) in the bottom of the seventh.
The No. 2 seed Crusaders (38-7) will now face No. 3 seed Virginia Wesleyan on Friday at 4 p.m. Virginia Wesleyan defeated Roger Williams 2-0 in Thursday's third game. Susquehanna will be the road team in the game.
Starting pitcher Morgan Lewis (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) threw five shutout innings, giving up just four hits while striking out four before leaving with the game tied at 0-0. Ashley Cole (Carle Place, N.Y./Carle Place) entered the game in the sixth and ultimately picked up the win, her 15th of the season.
Cantalini went 2-for-4 with one RBI while Larissa Luu (Montandon, Pa./Milton) was 1-for-2 and scored the game-winning run.
It looked as if SU might get on the board early when Cantalini knocked a two-out double to right center in the first. Brittany Devlin (Furlong, Pa./Central Bucks East) followed with a walk but both runners were ultimately left stranded.
The Rams (24-16) put runners on the corners with two outs in the fifth but Lewis got Michelle Mongiello to ground into an inning-ending fielder's choice.
The Crusaders left the bases loaded in the fifth and with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Amanda Neveroski (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) launched a triple to center field but was left stranded to keep it a 0-0 game after six innings.
In the top of the seventh, Farmingdale's Meghan Acton reached second with a one-out double and was sacrificed to third but Cole got Meagan Anderson to strike out swinging to end the threat.
With her team's last chances to end the game in regulation, Luu knocked a one-out single through the left side. Brianna Murphy (Hazlet, N.J./Mater Dei Prep) drew a two-out walk to put two runners on base for Cantalini who perfectly placed the ball into center field to plate Luu and end the game in a 1-0 SU victory.
