NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
NCAA SOFTBALL COMMUNITY SERVICE
ESU OPENS NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH 6-2 LOSS TO NORTH GEORGIA
NO. 6 WARRIORS LOOK TO STAVE OFF ELIMINATION AGAINST NO. 7 NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
ESU OPENS NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH 6-2 LOSS TO NORTH GEORGIA
STROUDSBURG – After falling to Charleston in game one of the NCAA Atlantic Super Regional on Thursday, the East Stroudsburg University softball team needed back-to-back victories against the Golden Eagles to advance to the NCAA Softball Championships and did just that, knocking off Charleston, 3-0, 2-0, on Friday afternoon at Creekview Park's Vigon International Field.
With the pair of victories, the Warriors (43-17) earn a trip to its first-ever NCAA Softball Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. next week and captured its first Atlantic Region Championship in 47 seasons as a varsity sponsored program. With the losses, the Golden Eagles (45-12) close their impressive season as a regional finalist.
ESU's pitching duo
Paige Zigmund and
Leigh Ann Jenkins starred, with two complete-game shutouts, scattering seven hits in 14 innings, striking out 11 while walking just one. The duo held the opposition to a .140 batting average.
Gallery: (5-19-2023) 2023 NCAA Atlantic Region Champions
The Warriors represent one of eight regional champions at Chattanooga's Frost Stadium from Thurs., May 25 to Mon., May 29. The double-elimination tournament for the national championship will feature regional champions East Stroudsburg (Atlantic Region), Grand Valley State (Midwest Region), Wilmington (East Region), Tampa or Nova Southeastern (South Region), North Georgia (Southeast Region), UT Tyler (South Central Region), Cal St. San Marcos (West Region) and Central Oklahoma/Southern Arkansas (Central Region). The updated NCAA DII Softball bracket is available
here.
Notables
- Abigail Weirich recorded an RBI in both contests, with a sacrifice fly in game one and an RBI triple in game two. She finished with three hits and two RBIs on the day.
- Molly Nies also contributed a triple and two RBIs, with a clutch two-run triple in game one to extend ESU's lead to 3-0.
- Jada Smallwood paced the Warriors with three hits, including a double. She recorded an RBI double to lift ESU to an early edge in game two.
- Paige Zigmund (W, 25-6) was locked in from the start and never looked back, scattering three hits and struck out two, without issuing a walk. She got revenge after suffering just her sixth loss of the season in Thursday's game one to Charleston. In six NCAA Tournament starts in 2023, Zigmund (5-1) has recorded a 0.85 ERA, striking out 24 in 33 innings, while giving up just three extra-base hits and three walks, holding the opposition to a .184 batting average.
- Leigh Ann Jenkins (W, 12-7), pitching in her first contest in over two weeks, settled right in against her former team. She allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out nine Golden Eagles in seven innings.
- ESU, who was making its fourth trip the NCAA Tournament (2006, 2007, 2021, 2023), reaches the NCAA Softball Championships for the first time in program history with its first-ever region title. The Warriors continue to break school records this season, now with 43 wins. ESU set previous records for wins in the 2022 season (34), and matched its 2006 program record of 29 wins in 2021.
How It Happened: ESU 3, Charleston 0
- Abigail Weirich recorded the first hit of the game with one out in the top of the 2nd. Unfortunately for the Warriors, a 6-4-3 double play erased her from the basepaths and closed the inning.
- After a bunt foul out, ESU posted three consecutive singles to load the bases in the top of the 4th. A sacrifice fly by Weirich accounted for the first run.
- ESU put runners on the corners in the top of the 5th, after singles from Pritchard Wright. After a strike out, Nies blasted a two-run triple in the gap to extend the lead to 3-0. Jenkins and Zigmund have combined for a .070 ERA this NCAA Tournament.
- With two outs in the seventh, Jeritza Montero recorded a double to keep the Golden Eagles alive. After a two-out single, Zigmund forced a groundout to herself for her third shutout over her past four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
How It Happened: ESU 2, Charleston 0
- After Charleston won the coin toss to earn the right to hit last as the home team, ESU jumped to a 2-0 lead. After a leadoff walk, and back-to-back fielder's choice, Vicendese stole second. Smallwood blasted a double off the fence for the first run, while Weirich followed with a triple down the left field line, as the Warriors took a 2-0 edge early on.
- UC posted a one-out single and double to put two runners in scoring position, but the Folsom, Pa. native Jenkins fired a strikeout and a popout to keep the shutout in tact.
- The contest remained quiet until the bottom of the 4th, after a leadoff single by Jeritza Montero. Jenkins recovered with a strikeout, forced a pop-out bunt to herself, and fired her fifth strikeout to get out of possible trouble.
- After that single in the fourth, Jenkins gave up one final single in the bottom of the 6th and a walk in the 7th, but ultimately pitched a shutout performance in the most important game in her collegiate softball career to date, picking up her 12th win of the season when it mattered most.
Up Next
- The Warriors head to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Frost Stadium as one of eight teams remaining in the 64-team NCAA Tournament and 272 NCAA Division II teams in the sport.
