Forgety, Buffs shut out Rio for first opening round win
Erin Forgety threw her third shutout of the season, and Milligan University won its first-ever NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round game, 4-0, over University of Rio Grande Monday afternoon. The game took place at Georgia Gwinnett College’s Grizzly Softball Complex.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Milligan
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
|
Rio Grande
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (May 17, 2021) – Erin Forgety threw her third shutout of the season, and Milligan University won its first-ever NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round game, 4-0, over University of Rio Grande Monday afternoon. The game took place at Georgia Gwinnett College's Grizzly Softball Complex.
Milligan (30-7) picked up its 30th win of the season, marking the first time eclipsing 30 wins since 2012. The Buffaloes next will face No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett Tuesday at 12 p.m. A win over the host Grizzlies Tuesday would mean the Buffs would only need one more win to advance to the NAIA Softball World Series. Georgia Gwinnett defeated Georgetown 5-1 in the first game of the day.
Forgety (13-4) had only a one-run cushion through the first five frames but showed nerves of steel in an effort that saw her allow only four baserunners. She struck out the side in the first and set down the RedStorm in order in the second, fifth and seventh.
Meanwhile, Kate Pendleton proved instrumental in the Buffs getting on the board in the first and doubling the lead in the sixth. She delivered a two-out, two-strike RBI to right field in the top of the first to send Katie Cronin home for the game's first run. In the sixth, Pendleton hit a one-out double down the left-field line, then came home to score on a Savannah Nocera two-out RBI single, making it 2-0.
The Buffs added two more runs to double the lead once again in the seventh, as Cronin tallied her second hit of the day with a two-RBI single through the left side.
Cronin finished the day 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI's while Pendleton led the way with a 2-for-3 effort featuring a double, a run and an RBI. Nocera and April Alvarado both went 1-for-3 while Grace Jones drew two walks in the leadoff spot.
Forgety's final line was seven innings, three hits, no runs, one walk and four strikeouts.