NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR) — As the sixth inning began at Captains Park on Saturday afternoon, Christopher Newport junior Katie Currin watched her team in battle in a 3-3 stalemate with Virginia Wesleyan in a winner-take-all Super Regional finale.
The next thing Currin knew, the Captains put two runners on base and head coach Keith Parr was calling her name.
"He said, 'Go take a few swings,'" Currin remembered. "Then he said, 'Actually, you're on deck.' I said, 'OK, I'm ready.' I didn't even have a chance to grab my batting gloves."
Battling gloves or not, it didn't matter. On the first pitch she saw, Currin crushed a three-run home run to put CNU ahead of VWU for good, taking game three of their round of 16 matchup, 6-4, and punching a ticket to the final round of the 2023 NCAA DIII Softball Tournament.
The Marlins forced a third game after beating the reigning national champions in the morning game 5-2.
"14 innings that felt like 44," Parr said. "Definitely some tough games, we knew it was going to be. We knew they weren't going to give in at all, and luckily we played just a little bit better when we needed to."
CNU went up 3-0 to begin the game, scoring twice in the second frame before Brooke Childress launched a solo homer in the third inning.
In the bottom half, Virginia Wesleyan took the game over. Laci Campbell started the momentum with an RBI double, then Olivia Knight brought a run home with a single in the fourth inning. VWU tied things up in the fifth with another Campbell at bat, this time the freshman sending a single into left field.
The next inning, Childress led off with a walk and Kensley Hess reached first with a bunt. After Kendall Bentley moved both runners up to second and third, Currin stepped to the plate and delivered the clutch home run.
"I was trying to get it to the outfield and score a run for the team, as it turns out it was three runs," she said. "It's a good feeling, being able to go around and have the team celebrating."
"That was awesome. That was kind of a glimpse of last year, that big hit in a big situation," CNU starting pitcher Kate Alger said. "She deserves it more than anybody."
Alger went all seven frames, striking out eight, allowing eight hits and three earned runs. Lauren Bible pitched the first three innings for the Marlins before turning things over to Emma Adams. She went through the sixth inning with Emily Seale closing out the game.
Currin's home run was her first at bat since Christopher Newport played York College of Pennsylvania in its first game of the NCAA Tournament last week.
"I knew we needed a big hit right there and Katie is very capable," Parr said. "It's one of those where you have a gut feeling, grabbed Katie and popped her in there. She got the job done."
This is the second straight season the two schools faced each other in the round of 16 with the Captains getting the sweep last year.
CNU now heads to Marshall, Texas for the final round of the NCAA Tournament. The final eight teams begin play on June 1.
