The last two NCAA DIII softball national champions will meet each other in an all-757 Super Regional for the second straight season.
No. 10 Christopher Newport and No. 13 Virginia Wesleyan each punched their ticket to the next round of the 2023 NCAA DIII Softball Tournament on Saturday with wins in their respective regional championships.
The Captains, who won the 2022 national title, fended off Roanoke College with a 3-0 win, knocking the Maroons off for a second day in a row. A scoreless game in the fifth inning, Bianca Scott-Palmer notched the first run with a delayed steal of home.
The catcher and Kempsville alum also helped bring in another run in the sixth inning when she hit a grounder that got by Maroon second baseman Meri Bostic. It resulted in an error but allowed Abby Rochette to score. Jamie Martin pitched 5.2 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing five hits.
Virginia Wesleyan dropped game one of its Saturday slate to The College of New Jersey, 7-4, before rallying in game two to punch its ticket to the round of 16. Tied at two going into the seventh inning, VWU's Alison Pollack batted in a run with a shot to right field to make it 3-2. Just two hitters later, Caitlin Myers crushed a three-run home run to left field that broke the game open and allowed the Marlins to pull away.
Starter Lauren Bible went a full seven innings, tallying four strikeouts and allowing five hits while being credited for one earned run against.
Virginia Wesleyan has won national titles in 2017, 2018, and 2021.
CNU and VWU met earlier this season, splitting a doubleheader on March 15. The Captains got a walk-off home run from Ellie Post in the first game before the Marlins responded with a 7-4 win in the second contest.
