2012 Horizon League Softball Championships Bracket
Softball Championships Scoreboard:
(5) Butler 3, (4) Youngstown State 0
(6) Green Bay 5, (3) UIC 1
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Butler and Green Bay collected victories on the first day of the Horizon League Softball Championships, sending Youngstown State and defending champion UIC into the consolation bracket, respectively.
(5) Butler 3, (4) Youngstown State 0
Butler sophomore Leah Bry tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout to lead the fifth-seeded Bulldogs past No. 4 Youngstown State, 3-0, in the opening round of the League Championship.
The win sends Butler (24-30) to a matchup with No. 1 Valparaiso at 12 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 10. The Horizon League Network will have live coverage of the game.
Bry (11-16) struck out just four batters, but utilized a stiff breeze blowing in from center to help keep the Youngstown State (28-20-1) offense at bay. The Penguins entered the game hitting a League-best .320, but were stymied throughout the opener, advancing to second base just once in the game.
Butler got the only run it would need in the second, when Erin Falkenberry drove an offering from Casey Crozier (13-8) over the right-center field fence for a solo home run, putting the Bulldogs ahead, 1-0.
Mallory Winters would give the Bulldogs a two-run lead in the fourth, driving in Kristen Boros with a two-out single to center. During that same stretch, Bry and the Butler defense retired eight straight Penguins, keeping Youngstown State from striking back.
Alyssa Coleman would provide the game’s final margin in the seventh, bringing Callie Dennison to the plate with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. Bry would set down Youngstown State in order in the bottom half to send the Bulldogs into the second round.
Youngstown State will meet the loser of the Loyola-Green Bay game at 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday night.
(6) Green Bay 5, (3) UIC 1
No-hit for 4.1 innings, Green Bay broke out the bats in a big way over the last three innings, overcoming UIC, 5-1, in the second game of the League Championship.
Ashley Hewett (11-13) held Green Bay (23-26) without a hit through the first four innings, but with one out in the top of the fifth, Shannon Butts stroked a clean single to center to break up Hewett’s attempt at the no-hitter.
Tia Collins entered as a pinch-hitter and promptly stole second base and with two outs, Ashleigh Racer drove a double to the left-center field gap to knot the game at 1. Amanada Omahen then followed by lacing a single through the left side of the UIC defense to plate Racer and give the Phoenix a 2-1 lead.
UIC (25-26) would try and respond in the bottom half of the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but Alli Goecks (11-11) struck out Jacki Fletcher and Butts picked off Courtney Heeley at third base to end the inning.
The Phoenix would tack on insurance runs in the top of the seventh, with Omahen taking a starring role once more. With Jessica Hrncar on third and Amanda Pozolinski on second, Omahen drove a pitch from Devin Miller to right center to drive in both players. Danielle Peerenboom followed with a double to the same spot to plate Omahen and close the scoring.
The Flames had opened a 1-0 lead in the third on Natalie Hernandez’s fifth homer of the year, a solo shot that climbed high in the sky before dropping over the left field fence.
Green Bay will meet second-seeded Loyola at 2:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, while UIC will play the loser of the Valparaiso-Butler game at 7:30 p.m. EST in an elimination game.
