Hempstead, N.Y. ? Ashley Monceaux had three hits, including a home run, and drove in four runs in leading Baylor to a 10-0 victory over UAlbany in the NCAA Softball Championship's Hempstead Regional Final on Sunday afternoon at Hofstra Softball Stadium. The Bears, who are ranked seventh nationally, advanced to the Super Regionals on May 25-26.
Starting pitcher Lisa Ferguson was in complete control after allowing a lead-off single to UAlbany's Amber Maisonet in the first inning. Ferguson, who improved to 23-7 in the circle, mowed down the next 12 batters before giving way to reliever Kirsten Shortridge in the fifth. The right-hander struck out four.
Baylor (48-13) took a 1-0 lead in its first at bat when Monceaux and Shortridge started with back-to-back singles. Monceaux, a first-team All-Midwest Region first baseman, would later score on catcher Chelsi Lake's sacrifice fly.
The Bears, who are in the Super Regionals for the second time in the last three years, and will host Michigan next weekend, scored three times in the fourth. Tiffany Wesley, who went 3-for-3 with two runs, singled and stole second base before Kelsey Sage walked. After Alex Colyer sacrificed the runners to second and third, Wesley scampered home on Miriam Romero's single deep into the hole on the left side on the infield. Monceaux followed with a two-run double that rolled to the wall in the left-field gap for a 4-0 lead.
Baylor added a six-run fifth inning to put the game away. Wesley delivered a run-scoring double, before an error and a wild pitch led to more trouble. Monceaux, who was 3-for-4 on the day, capped the uprising with a long two-run homer over the center field fence, her 18th of the season.
“We wanted to send a message that we were the best team in this region,” said Lake, who had two home runs and six RBI in Baylor's three regional games. “We scored a lot of runs and had some great pitching. We are excited about going home to play in front of family and friends.”
UAlbany (35-17) lost to Baylor, 8-2, in this double-elimination tournament's first round on Friday, but then battled through the loser's bracket on Saturday to make its first-ever regional championship appearance. The Great Danes, who won the America East Conference title, defeated Harvard, 1-0, and Hofstra, 4-2, for the first-ever NCAA wins in the program's Division I history. Casey Halloran, who had a brief stint as a reliever to finish out the fifth inning for starter Leah McIntosh, finished her career as the school's all-time leader in wins (73) and strikeouts (595).
“We didn't play as well as we wanted,” said UAlbany coach Chris Cannata, whose program reached the 35-win mark for the third straight season. “But we are proud that were playing in the (regional) finals. It was huge for our program to be here.”
-agate-
Baylor (48-13) 100 36 - 10 11 0
UAlbany (35-17) 000 00 - 0 2 2 (game ended in fifth due to 8-run rule)
Lisa Ferguson, Kirsten Shortridge (5) and Chelsi Lake, Courtney Oberg.
Leah McIntosh, Casey Halloran (5) and Kat Smith.
2007 NCAA Division I Softball - Hempstead Regional
Friday, May 18
Game 1 - #1 Baylor 8, #4 Albany 2
Game 2 - #2 Hofstra 3, #3 Harvard 2, 9 innings
Saturday, May 19
Game 3 - Baylor 7, Hofstra 2
Game 4 - Albany 1, Harvard 0 (Harvard eliminated)
Game 5 - Albany 4, Hofstra 2 (Hofstra eliminated)
Sunday, May 20 (Championship Round)
Game 6 - Baylor 10, Albany 0 (Albany eliminated)
The Automated ScoreBook
#7 Baylor vs Albany
May 20, 2007 at Hempstead, NY (HU Softball Stadium)
Baylor 10 (48-13)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Monceaux, Ashley 1b...... 4 2 3 4 0 0 5 0 2
Shortridge, Kirsten rf/p. 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
Reagan, Brette 3b........ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Lake, Chelsi c........... 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 0 0
Honnette, Danielle pr/dp 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Oberg, Courtney dp/c..... 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1
Wesley, Tiffany lf....... 3 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
Sage, Kelsey ss.......... 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 0 0
Colyer, Alex 2b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Romero, Miriam cf........ 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
Ferguson, Lisa p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Wesley, Nicole rf....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 25 10 11 8 2 0 15 3 4
Albany 0 (35-17)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
Maisonet, Amber lf....... 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Kothe, Nicole cf......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Connors, Michelle 2b..... 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Ogden, Kelly 3b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 1
Butsch, Meagan ss........ 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Tillman, Leanne 1b....... 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0
Smith, Kat c............. 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Pais, Shane pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gremillion, Laura dp..... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Pechacek, Michelle rf.... 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 2
McIntosh, Leah p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Halloran, Casey p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals................... 16 0 2 0 0 6 15 6 3
Score by Innings R H E
--------------------------------------
Baylor.............. 100 36 - 10 11 0
Albany.............. 000 00 - 0 2 2
--------------------------------------
E - Connors, M.; Smith, K.. LOB - Baylor 4; Albany 3. 2B - Monceaux(17);
Wesley, T.(5). 3B - Romero(2). HR - Monceaux(18). HBP - Smith, K.. SH -
Colyer; Kothe, N.. SF - Lake. SB - Reagan(11); Wesley, T. 2(34); Romero(13).
Baylor IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
Ferguson, Lisa...... 4.0 1 0 0 0 4 12 13
Shortridge, Kirsten. 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 4 5
Albany IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
McIntosh, Leah...... 4.2 11 10 6 2 0 24 28
Halloran, Casey..... 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Win - Ferguson (23-7). Loss - McIntosh, L. (11-6). Save - None.
WP - McIntosh, L.. HBP - by Shortridge (Smith, K.).
Umpires - HP: Craig Hyde 1B: Bryan Smith 3B: Rodney Smith
Start: 12 p.m. Time: 1:25 Attendance: 90
Game notes:
ID-508404
2007 NCAA Softball Championship - Hempstead Regional (Game Six)
Regional Finals
Game: NCAAHU6
