Box Score Box Score

Salem, VA - The Piedmont College softball team has a knack for big victories, and today at the Salem Regional of the NCAA National Tournament was no different as the Lady Lions pulled off a 7-6 victory over the nation's fourth ranked team, Emory University.  The loss for the Eagles eliminates them from NCAA postseason play while the Piedmont win moves them into the regional championship set to take place tomorrow morning.

Piedmont was in business early as their veteran middle infielder Megan McClain led off for PC with a base hit that slipped over the Emory infield.  Bunted across by Taylor Morgan, McClain was now in scoring position with just one out in the first and the heart of the order coming up for Piedmont.

Young slugger Olivia Duncan then delivered once more in NCAA action as she drilled a stand up double in the gap in right center scoring McClain and giving Piedmont the 1-0 early lead.

Kristen Hamby then put Emory in a pressure spot before letting them out of the inning as she singled to the Eagles pitcher who, trying to make the play at first after Hamby crossed, tossed the ball over the head of the waiting first baseman.

That error allowed Duncan who was moved to third on the single to score easily and move the Piedmont advantage to 2-0 after just the first inning.

A quiet 1st from Jordin Ellingson was mostly continued in the top of the 2nd though Emory would get a runner on first with one out. A ground ball to Jamie Dennis that the senior fired to 2nd for the force put two outs on the board just before a brilliant throw from Duncan behind the plate and a swift tag from McClain caught the Emory runner stealing for the final out of the inning.

Ellingson then helped her own cause as she did in her last start in the NCAA tourney with a 1-out single past the Eagles' infield in the bottom of the 2nd.  A follow up double from Whitney Wolfe put runners on 2nd and 3rd for Piedmont with two outs to play with.

Senior Megan McClain then stepped up once more and again delivered with her hit through the middle scoring a run and allowing her to reach second to keep two on for PC.  A pop up helped Emory with another out, and following a walk to Duncan to load the bases for Piedmont, the Eagles were finally able to get out of the second with limited damage, PC leading 3-0.

Ellingson got in a bit of trouble the following inning with back-to-back walks on two outs, a mistake that Emory made her pay for with two base hits that scored a run each.  The Eagles' pair of scores cut the Piedmont margin down to just one heading to the bottom of the third.

A play a the plate in Piedmont's half of the third inning kept the Lady Lions from being able to add to their one run lead, a factor that Emory would jump on in the top of the fourth when the Eagles put runners on 2nd and 3rd with just one out.

Despite the tying run sitting just 60 feet away, the young pitcher for Piedmont was able to induce a ground out to first and a line out to second putting her team in the dugout with no runs allowed in the fourth.

There was plenty of action through the first half of the game  which was only magnified in a hectic Piedmont fourth.  With a pair of Lady Lions taking up the bags, Emory seemed to have escaped trouble until yet another senior in Jamie Dennis did some damage with a lined shot to left that rattled off the fence.

Dennis' drive scored a pair and an Emory error allowed her to reach third, but the veteran would only have a moment to rest.  Another Eagle error on the same play sent Dennis from standing on third to running through home and gave the Lady Lions a 6-2 lead blowing up what was a tight one-run advantage.

Though the action slowed down a bit over the next few frames, the score would not stay the same long as the Eagles once again pulled themselves back into the contest with a bases-loaded, 2-RBI single in the top of the 6th.  That shot with no outs put the young Ellingson in a pickle as she now would face the top of the order with runners on the corners.

The Eagles would push the issue getting five of their 11 hits through six in just the top of the 6th alone scoring four runs and dramatically tying the game at a half dozen each.

In the home half of the same frame, Piedmont tried to regain the lead, an effort that looked to be lost until Megan Kesler stepped up with two outs and a pair of Lady Lions on the bags.  Continuing the theme of the veterans coming through for Head Coach Terry Martin, Kesler stayed with it slapping an Emory offering in between a quartet of Eagles just behind second base.

Kesler's key strike, her 5th hit in nine at-bats at the NCAA tourney, put Piedmont up 7-6 heading into the top of the 7th as PC looked to grab three more outs for a date with #1 Salisbury in the regional championship game the following day.

However, nationally ranked Emory would go quietly in to the night getting a 1-out single to give the Eagles a tying run at first.  However, a great play from second baseman Whitney Wolfe calmed the storm as Piedmont had two outs lit up and a chance to advance staring them in the face.

The final out came on a rocket throw from the senior McClain at short as she collected a grounder and delivered it to Kesler at first sending her teammates and the traveling fans into a frenzy.

The 7-6 dramatic win over the #4 Eagles left Piedmont as the last remaining challenger to the nation's #1 team and top seed at the Salem Regional, Salisbury University.

The Lady Lions will face the powerful Seagulls with a chance to go to Wisconsin on the line tomorrow, May 13 with the first pitch set for 10 am.  Follow the action live at the official site of the Salem Regional.