Southwestern Wins Second SCAC Softball Championship

Southwestern Wins Second SCAC Softball Championship

IRVING, Texas  - The No. 2 seeded Southwestern University Pirates won the program's second Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference softball championship with a 9-4 win over top seed Trinity University after forcing a deciding winner-take-all game two on Sunday afternoon.

GAME ONE

Southwestern 7, Trinity 2

Southwestern forced a deciding winner-take-all championship game against Trinity with a 7-2 win in game on on Sunday afternoon at the 2013 SCAC Softball Tournament.  Box Score

The Pirates (33-11) jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings as Southwestern rode the pitching of starter Kelsey Kingston. Kingston pitched a complete game and allowed just two earned runs while striking out four in the win.

Southwestern put the game out of reach with four runs in the bottom of the sixth after Trinity had cut the lead to 3-2 in the top half of the sixth. Kayla Irvin hit a solo home run and then saw teammate Caroline Young add a three-run homer to left center to provide the winning margin.

Young, who came into pinch hit, finished 1-1 with three RBI and a run scored and while Irvin was 2-3 with three RBI and a run scored.

Trinity (27-15) was led by Megan Russell who was 2-3 with an RBI in the loss. Starting pitcher Sydney Friday suffered the loss as she tossed six innings and yielded all nine runs, seven of which were earned.

GAME TWO

Southwestern 9, Trinity 4

Southwestern jumped on the back of junior shortstop Karen Ramirez and it led the Pirates to the program's second SCAC Championship after Ramirez paved the way in a 9-4 Pirate win in the deciding championship game two of the 2013 SCAC Softball Tournament Sunday afternoon. Box Score

The win gives Southwestern the SCAC automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

Ramirez drove in four of Southwestern's (34-11) nine runs and was 3-4 at the plate with two runs, four RBI and a three-run homer in the sixth inning that essentially sealed the Pirates' SCAC title.

The Pirates won the this year's league title just the same way they did back in 2010 after coming through the loser's bracket and beating the winner's bracket champion in consecutive games on championship Sunday.

Starting pitcher Kelsey Kingston earned the win as she tossed seven innings and struck out two. Kingston limited the Trinity damage to just four runs (three earned).

2013 SCAC All-Tournament Team 
- C: Caitlyn Dykes (Trinity)

- 1B: Mary Whitworth (Austin)
- 2B: Stacy Rosengren (Southwestern); Crissy Armstrong (Trinity)
- 3B: Ashleigh Scott (Southwestern)
- SS: Brooke Sanchez (Trinity)
- OF: Lauren Swift (Centenary); Charlotte Trudell (Austin); Lindsay Biggers (Southwestern)
- DP: Brittany Castro (Dallas)
- UTL: Jessica Baker (Austin)
- P: Kelsey Kingston (Southwestern)