Salisbury advances with win over CNU; rain suspends game in third
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.-  After dropping the opening game in the Fayetteville, N.C. regional of the 2007 NCAA Division III softball tournament fourth-seeded Salisbury has won two straight games to avoid elimination.

The No. 14 Sea Gulls (38-8) defeated the sixth-seeded Captains of Christopher Newport University 6-1 on Saturday afternoon to ensure a second game later in the day against No. 20 Marietta College. Marietta edged out top-seeded Methodist University 3-2 in eight innings to move on and face Salisbury in an elimination game.

The Salisbury-Marietta game is suspended in the top of the third inning with the score tied 0-0. Marietta has runners on second and third with one out when play resumes at 10 a.m. Sunday, May 13.

Fresh off tossing a four-hit shutout, sophomore Stacy Davis again pitched seven strong innings for the victory vs. CNU. She allowed 10 hits but did not walk a batter as she improved to 19-3 on the season.

Although the Captains notched two more hits than the Sea Gulls, CNU committed four errors that led to three unearned runs. Salisbury had three players with multi-hit games. Freshman Ali Ritter went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Tee Dronenburg had two hits and two RBIs, and Meaghan Murphy also had two hits to go along with her two runs.

CAC Player and Rookie of the Year Kelly Waskewicz accounted for Salisbury’s lone extra-base hit with a triple in the first inning. She promptly scored on a sacrifice fly by Stacey Malarkey to stake the Sea Gulls an early lead.

This regional match-up marked the fourth meeting this year between the familiar foes. CNU took the first game 6-3, but the Sea Gulls have won three straight against the Captains, including this postseason win, after the early season loss.

At the end of action today, there are four teams remaining in regional play. Fifth-seeded Emory University, who defeated Salisbury in the opening game, is the only team without a loss. Seventh-seeded Lynchburg College awaits the winner of the Salisbury-Marietta contest. The three one-loss teams will battle for the right to face Emory in the regional championship round.