Tournament MVP Sharonda Mangan's one-out walk-off grand slam lifted third-seeded Saint Catharine College to a dramatic 6-4 victory over top-seeded Robert Morris-Springfield to capture the 2009 USCAA Softball National Championship at Decatur St. Theresa High School on Friday afternoon.
The final was shifted from Borg Warner Complex due to heavy overnight and early morning rain in the Decatur area.
Robert Morris-Springfield held a 4-2 lead heading into the seventh inning but the Patriots managed to load the bases with one out to set up Mangan's heroics. The tournament title was the first for Saint Catharine College.
Members of the All-Tournament Team included:
Penn State Beaver: Kayla Chambers
Saint Mary Of The Woods: Sara Goelz, Aubrey Stich
Robert Morris-Springfield: Kristina Hoffart, Sarah Carby, Lacey Walcher
Saint Catharine College: Justine Paddock, Amber Matteoli, Mary Kate Hayes
Tournament MVP: Saint Catharine College - Sharonda Mangan
Game 1 - Judson 1, St. Mary Of The Woods 0
Elyse McIntyre's two-out single in the bottom of the seventh scored Haley Anderson with the winning run as seventh-seeded Judson College knocked off second-seeded St. Mary Of The Woods on Wednesday.
Stephanie Alford started the rally with a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh and was replaced by Anderson. After a strikeout and a dropped fly ball, McIntyre singled up the middle to plate the winning run.
Nesha McGriff picked up the win with a complete game five-hitter as she struck out four for Judson.
Game 2 - Saint Catharine 2, Briarcliffe 0
Third-seeded Saint Catharine College scored single runs in the second and third innings to win its opening round game with sixth-seeded Briarcliffe College.
Megan Cheuvront, Justine Paddock and Nicole Mills had two hits each for St. Catharine's as they out-hit the Seahawks 9-1.
Amber Matteoli and Sharonda Morgan combined on the one-hitter for St. Catharine's as Matteoli struck out 10 and Morgan struck out two in her one inning of relief.
Game 3 - Robert Morris-Springfield 7, Penn State Beaver 1
Ashley Matheson and Brittany Oakes drove in two runs each, while Lacey Walcher, Kristina Hoffart, Shannon Settles and Oakes had two hits each as top-seeded Robert Morris-Springfield defeated eighth-seeded Penn State Beaver 7-1.
The Eagles jumped on the board first with a run in the first and pushed two across in the third, fourth and seventh innings. Matheson drove in a pair of runs in the fourth with a single to left field while Oakes doubled in two runs in the third.
Allison Neff and Sarah Carby combined for the victory on the mound for Robert Morris-Springfield as Neff earned the win with six innings of six-hit ball. Kayla Chambers took the loss for Penn State Beaver who were paced at the plate by short stop Jen Hain who went 2-for-4.
Game 4 - Southern Virginia 5, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 2
Abbie Fisher's three-run home run broke open a 2-all tie as the fourth-seeded Southern Virginia University Knights defeated fifth-seeded St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn Bears 5-2.
The Bears scored single runs in the first and third innings on RBI doubles by Lisa Scheer. Southern Virginia tied it on a two-run double from Emma James in the fourth before Fisher's three-run shot to right-centerfield.
Scheer took the loss for St. Joseph's striking out seven in the contest without a walk, while Amanda Otto earned the win striking out six and walking one for Southern Virginia. Otto helped herself at the plate going 3-for-3.
Game 5 - St. Catharine's 7, Judson 4
Third-seeded Saint Catharine College avanced to the winners bracket final with a 7-4 victory over seventh-seeded Judson College on Wednesday.
Each team hit a pair of home runs as Sharonda Mangan hit a three-run shot in the third inning and Justine Paddock hit a solo home run in the second for St. Catharine. Judson's Ashley Glass hit a three-run shot in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Saint Catharine out-hit Judson 14-7 in the contest as Megan Cheuvront, Casey Crouch, Mangan and Nicole Mills had two hit each for the Patriots. Whitney Bryant had three hits for Judson College while Elyse McIntyre went 2-for-4.
Game 6 - Robert Morris-Springfield 8, Southern Virginia 0
Sophomore Sarah Carby threw a five-inning perfect game as top-seeded Robert Morris-Springfield advanced to the winners bracket final with an 8-0 victory over fourth-seeded Southern Virginia. The game was stopped due to the eight-run rule.
Carby, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, struck out six and did not have a ball leave the infield in the perfect game.
Emily Deters and Renae Krueger had two hits each for the Eagles. Deters had a solo home run and Kristina Hoffart had a two-run home run for Robert Morris-Springfield.
Game 7 - St. Mary Of The Woods 6, Briarcliffe 0
Katelyn Tillotson went 2-for-3 for second-seeded St. Mary Of The Woods as they won an elimination game against sixth-seeded Briarcliffe College.
In the fourth inning St. Mary Of The Woods scored two runs as Aubrey Stitch doubled in a run and Tillotson singled in Stitch. Two innings later they put the game out of reach with four runs .
Sara Goelz struck out nine and allowed six hits to pick up the victory. Briarcliffe was paced by Domenica Marsalla who went 2-for-4.
Game 8 - Penn State Beaver 5, St. Joseph's-Brooklyn 2
Katie Landis hit a two-run double to highlight a three-run sixth inning to lift Penn State Beaver over St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in an elimination game.
Each team scored a run in the first and fifth innings before Landis' double to center field put the Nittany Lions ahead to stay.
She was 3-for-3 for Penn State Beaver in support of winning pitcher Kayla Chambers who struck out three and allowed eight hits. Caitlyn Kakavas and Alyson Chiaramonte each had two hits for St. Joseph's Brooklyn.
Game 9 - St. Mary Of The Woods 1, Judson 0
Amanda McGlone's two-out double in the fifth inning scored Ashley Sankey with the eventual winning run as St. Mary Of The Woods eliminated Judson in the first game on Thursday morning.
Sarah Goelz picked up the victory for St. Mary Of The Woods as she allowed five hits and struck out four. Sankey was 2-for-2 to lead a six-hit attack from St. Mary Of The Woods.
Judson's Ashley Glass and Sarah Kendrick were 2-for-3 apiece for the Eagles.
Game 10 - Penn State Beaver 1, Southern Virginia 0
Alonna Verrico's one-out single scored Melissa Swoager with the eventual winning run as Penn State Beaver eliminated Southern Virginia 1-0 on Thursday morning.
Kayla Chambers earned the win for the Nittany Lions with a six-hit shutout as she struck out five. Five Nittany Lions had a hit apiece for the victors.
Cara Joyner and Abbie Fisher had two hits apiece for Southern Virginia University.
Game 11 - Saint Catharine 5, Robert Morris-Springfield 4
Justine Paddock's two-out single in the top of the seventh scored Casey Crouch with the eventual winning run as Saint Catharine College advanced to the championship game with a 5-4 victory over Robert Morris-Springfield.
The top-seeded Eagles tied the game in the sixth on the strength of a Emily Deters solo home run and an unearned run on a dropped fly ball. Kristina Hoffart had two of Robert Morris-Springfield's four hits in the contest.
In the seventh, Sharonda Mangan singled to center scoring Megan Cheuvront to tie the game for St. Catharine. Paddock followed with a single scoring Crouch with the winning run. Mangan and Paddock had two hits apiece for St. Catharine.
Game 12 - St. Mary Of The Woods 6, Penn State Beaver 4
Second-seeded St. Mary Of The Woods exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third inning and held off a pesky Penn State Beaver squad for a 6-4 victory on Thursday afternoon.
Winning pitcher Aubrey Stich drove in two runs with a single up the middle for St. Mary Of The Woods and Chelsea Baker cleared the bases with a three-run double to right center in the third inning.
Libby Wright was 2-for-3 for the victors as they were out-hit 9-5 by the Nittany Lions. Penn State Beaver was paced by Alysia Policaro who was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Kayla Chambers of Penn State Beaver was named to the All-Tournament team as the Nittany Lions took fourth place.
Game 13 - Robert Morris-Springfield 6, St. Mary Of The Woods 5
Kristina Hoffart went 2-for-2 driving in three runs and scoring three runs as top-seeded Robert Morris-Springfield eliminated second-seeded St. Mary Of The Woods in the third place game 6-5.
Robert Morris-Springfield scored two runs in the first and third innings before St. Mary Of The Woods started its rally. They scored a run in the third and two in the fourth to cut the deficit to 4-3. Each team scored two in the fifth for the 6-5 final.
Sarah Carby earned the win for Robert Morris-Springfield with five innings allowing nine hits. Allison Neff picked up the save with two innings allowing one hit and striking out one.
Aubrey Stich and Sara Goelz were named to the All-Tournament team from St. Mary Of The Woods.
Game 14 - Championship : St. Catharine vs. Robert Morris-Springfield
Due to rain and lightning around the Borg Warner Complex, the championship game was postponed till 11 am CST on Friday.