Elon’s softball team took advantage of its opportunities late in the championship game of the Southern Conference tournament Friday at Jim Frost Stadium, and the Phoenix were rewarded for it.
They scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning and defeated UNC Greensboro 6-3 for Elon’s first SoCon title in women’s sports and only its second women’s championship since moving up to NCAA Division I.
“Elon’s made a commitment to athletics, helping us with what we need,” coach Patti Raduenz said. “When you have people that are behind you and believe in you, it helps you be able do things and believe you’re doing it for all the right reasons.”
UNCG, the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament, beat Georgia Southern 2-1 behind pitcher Amber Harrell in the first game of the day — the losers-bracket final.
With Harrell, voted the tournament’s most outstanding player, being saved for a potential second game against Elon, Cory Mattson was called upon to give the Spartans a chance, and she came very close to pulling off the upset of the No. 2 seed. Mattson allowed only one run through six innings — on a third-inning single by Caitlin McGowan — and the Spartans scratched out two runs in the fourth without getting a hit and took a 2-1 lead into the seventh.
Elon finally got to Mattson at that point, getting hits by Tomeka Watson and Jacqueline Gonzalez leading off the seventh. After Watson scored on a throwing error that allowed McGowan to reach base and Emerald Graham hit an RBI single, Harrell was called in. Despite a spectacular weekend, she made one bad pitch and paid for it. Kaitlyn Piazzolla hit a long home run down the left-field line that put the game out of reach.
“It was an inside pitch, and I went up there thinking nothing’s getting by me,” Piazzolla said. “It just felt great. I don’t think I’ve ever showed so much emotion in my life going around the bases.”
All-tournamentAshlee Crewe, Erin O’Shea, Kaitlyn Piazzolla, Tomeka Watson (Elon); Alex Emeterio, Amber Harrell, Eileen Horsmon, Whitney Sirois (UNC Greensboro); Megen Smith, Brianna Streetmon (Georgia Southern). Most outstanding: Harrell, UNCG.
Despite the disappointing ending, UNCG coach Jennifer Herzig said she was proud of what her team accomplished.
“I think we’re leaving with a whole lot more positive feelings than feelings of disappointment,” she said. “It would have been amazing to be on the other side. … But I could not be more proud of them for what they did while they were here as well as what they did all season long to get here.”
Raduenz likewise praised the resilience of her Phoenix.
“I’m just so proud of their never-say-die mentality,” she said. “We’ve had some battles along the way and lost some games maybe we shouldn’t have lost, but those are the ones who made us stronger. I love the heart of this team.”