Softball upsets No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett
Behind another strong pitching performance by Cloee-Anna Merritt, Milligan University’s softball team upset No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett College, 4-2, to advance to the championship of the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round Lawrenceville bracket on Tuesday.
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Milligan
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
|
No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (May 18, 2021) – Behind another strong pitching performance by Cloee-Anna Merritt, Milligan University's softball team upset No. 8 Georgia Gwinnett College, 4-2, to advance to the championship of the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round Lawrenceville bracket on Tuesday.
Merritt struck out five in her 10th complete game of the season, improving to 13-2 while Milligan improved to 31-7. It put Milligan one win away from the NAIA Softball World Series, and the Buffaloes will have two chances to earn that win on Wednesday. The first will take place at 12 p.m., with an "if necessary" game to follow.
Merritt picked up right where Erin Forgety left off in Monday's 4-0 win over Rio Grande, and she even helped herself with a two-out, two-run single in the sixth to unknot the final tie. Merritt faced only five over the minimum, scattering six hits and one walk while striking out five and allowing only two earned runs. Her only blemishes came in the second on an RBI groundout and in the third on a two-out solo homer.
Merritt's sixth-inning hit came with the bases loaded and two out in a 2-2 game, scoring Kate Pendleton and Bailey Cantrell to give Milligan the final lead.
Milligan first took the lead in the second inning on a two-out, bases-loaded walk to Lindsey Slagle followed by a wild pitch that scored Pendleton. The Buffs tallied seven hits with two coming off Merritt's bat.
The win marked Milligan's second-ever at the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round, both coming this week. The Buffs are making their third appearance at such stage, all happening since 2016. A win on Wednesday would advance the Buffs to the NAIA Softball World Series for the first time in program history, where they would join nine other teams in a double-elimination tournament for the national title.