NEW CASTLE, Del. -- Sophomore catcher
Emily Kurth (Toms River, N.J.) lined a clean single into center field, bringing home sophomore third baseman
Emily Tavaska (Jackson, N.J.) with the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh, lifting top-seeded Caldwell University softball to a 5-4 win over No. 5 Wilmington in the opening game of the CACC Softball Championships Double-Elimination Tournament at Asbury Field on Thursday.
Trailing, 2-0, the Cougars tied it with two in the third inning on two WilmU errors. The Wildcats retook the lead in the third before Caldwell scored twice in the fourth on an error and dash home by freshman left fielder
Melissa Lugo (Gilroy, Calif.) from third on a short wild pitch.Â
After the Wildcats evened the score at 4-4 in the fifth, the game remained scoreless until the home half of the seventh. Tavaska bunted to the pitcher, who hurried the throw, allowing Tavaska to reach second. Junior CF
Kenzie Nazionale (Ontario, Calif.) then laid down a perfect bunt, reaching on the single and moving Tavaska to third. One out later, Kurth took the first pitch back through the box for the walk-off hit.
Junior righthander
Katie O'Connor (Charlottesville, Va.) picked up her 14th win in relief, entering with a runner on second and no one out in the sixth, retiring three straight Wildcats to end the threat, then tossed a scoreless seventh to preserve the tie before Kurth's heroics.
Sophomore
Haleigh Fisher (Smyrna, N.Y.) allowed just two earned runs and struck out six in five innings of work in the circle.
The Cougars will take on No. 3 Bridgeport, a 7-4 winner over Felician in the other first round matchup, at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
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