TUCSON, Ariz. — Virginia Wesleyan won two games Sunday to capture the 2018 NFCA NCAA Division III Leadoff Classic at the Lincoln Park Complex.
The top-ranked and undefeated (14-0) Marlins went 6-0 for the three days, and dealt Texas Lutheran its first loss of the season, 5-0, in both teams’ final tournament game. Earlier on Sunday, Virginia Wesleyan rallied back from a 6-1 deficit to defeat Rochester, 14-6, in five innings.
The (7-1) Bulldogs, meanwhile, rolled past Babson, 14-4, in five innings in their first game Sunday.
Amy Large had a single and drove in two runs, and Kiersten Richardson added two hits and two runs for the Marlins in the matchup of unbeaten teams. Reigning Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player and Freshman of the Year Hanna Hull struck out nine in the two-hit shutout.
Kelsie McEachern and Kelly Jurden (double) had Texas Lutheran’s two hits, while the duo of Kassie Maddox and Jordaine Bishop limited the defending national champions to six hits in the contest.
Elsewhere, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, one of six teams that went 5-1 at the tournament, claimed the Leadoff Classic’s second-place trophy on the strength of its run differential (max eight runs per game) over its six games. The (10-4) Athenas defeated both Pacific (Ore.) and Fontbonne on the final day. Another of those tied teams, Trine, lost one of its two games Sunday after entering the day as one of three unbeaten squads.
Berry, Christopher Newport and Linfield also went 5-1 at the tournament. Other Leadoff participants were Babson, Birmingham-Southern, Central, Coe, DePauw, East Texas Baptist, George Fox, Illinois Wesleyan, Manhattanville, Messiah, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moravian, Otterbein, Pacific Lutheran, St. Catherine, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas, Thomas More, Whitworth, William Paterson, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wittenberg.
The tournament featured 32 elite teams playing a combined 96 games over three days, including most games involving at least one nationally-ranked team. There were 27 matchups where both teams were ranked. For a complete listing of tournament results, please visit our NFCA.org Tournament Central HERE.
2018 NFCA NCAA Division III Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team
Ali Reilly, Babson
Bayleigh Masterson, Berry
Krystyn Fisher, Birmingham-Southern
Emily Walton, Central
Emerald Cheesbrew, Christopher Newport
Reeve Grobecker, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Allie O’Brien, Coe
Becca St. Germain, DePauw
Madison Prince, East Texas Baptist
Courtney Kedroski, Fontbonne
Madison Sorensen, George Fox
Sam Berghoff, Illinois Wesleyan
Cheyenne Fletcher, Linfield
Dolores Diemicke, Manhattanville
Carrie Fix, Messiah
Jasmin Joseph, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Brooke Wehr, Moravian
Maddie Flasco, Otterbein
Nicole Martinez, Pacific (Ore.)
Kennedy Robillard, Pacific Lutheran
Hannah Leahy, Rochester
Kylie Macziewski, St. Catherine
Sammie Torlish, St. John Fisher
Chase Shortly, St. Thomas
Kassie Maddox, Texas Lutheran
Andrea Gahan, Thomas More
Kaylee Fox, Trine
Amy Large, Virginia Wesleyan
Chelsey Hayes, Whitworth
Ryan Tighe, William Paterson
Kaitlyn Krol, Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Olivia Hopkins, Wittenberg