Photo Courtesy of Atlantic Sun Conference
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After six and a half scoreless innings, third-seeded Stetson came away with a 1-0 victory vs. fourth-seeded Mercer to win Atlantic Sun Softball Championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning the Hatters and Bears combined for a total of only four hits as the pitchers duel raged on between Meredith Owen and Kirsten Stevens.
Stevens intentionally walked Owen to lead off the Hatters final at bat. Kayla Drury reached first after a fielding error and advanced Owen to second base. Jessica Griffin would get up to the plate as Steven threw two quick strikes. Griffin would see 10 more pitches before she would get the walk to load the bases with no outs.
Amanda Grimaldo stepped up for the Hatters as she drove a hit to right center field that would drop and allow Owen to score the game-winning run.
A-Sun Championship MVP Meredith Owen recorded five strikeouts today to garner a total of 24 strikeouts in the entire A-Sun Championship. Owen pitched a complete game shutout for her 26th win of the season.
A-Sun Insider: Stetson’s Senior Meredith Owen Leads Hatters to the Title
The Hatters advance to 38-12 on the season as they await the NCAA Softball selection show on Sunday, May 11th at 10 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Stetson is currently 44th in RPI, while head coach Frank Griffin coached in his 999th game at Stetson today. He is 611-388 in 18 seasons with the Hatters. The Bears fall to 37-19 on the season and are currently 42nd in RPI.
This is the Hatters fifth A-Sun Championship victory with title in 1886, 1987, 1988 and 2007. Stetson is the lowest seed to win the A-Sun Championship since 2008 when fifth-seeded Campbell won the title.
A-Sun Softball All-Tournament Team
MVP: Meredith Owen, Stetson
Amanda Grimaldo, Stetson
Jessie TenBroeck, Stetson
Chrissy Morello, Stetson
Jessica Griffin, Stetson
Kelsey Carpenter, FGCU
Brittney Garabedian, FGCU
Krista Kennedy, Mercer
McKenzie Woody, Mercer
Kirsten Steven, Mercer
Kendall Settlemyre, USC Upstate
