Courtesy of C-USA
MIAMI, Florida – Riding the scorching arm of Conference USA Pitcher of the Year and nationally-recognized senior Miranda Kramer, the Lady Toppers secured the 2015 C-USA Softball Championship with a 3-1 triumph over Florida Atlantic.
The 1-1 tie was broken in the bottom of the sixth when WKU freshman Carleigh Chaumont connected on a two-RBI double.
“I couldn’t even tell you where the pitch was. With two strikes, I just knew I was swinging if it was close,” Chaumont said.
The Lake Charles, Louisiana, native’s clutch at-bat was not the only heroic play she made. With two on and one out in the sixth inning, Florida Atlantic was threatening to take the lead as designated player Tatum Buckley slapped a single to left field. Coming around the bases with a full head of steam was all-tournament honoree and starting Owl shortstop Emily Lochten, but with a flawless heave from left field, Chaumont gunned down the C-USA All-Freshman Team selection to preserve the tie going into the bottom of the frame.
Kramer, who won all three games in the C-USA Championship for the Lady Toppers, smashed the C-USA tournament record for strikeouts with a whopping 44 after racking up 13 against Florida Atlantic. The tournament tally was 10 more than the previous record of 34 set by Tulsa’s Aimee Creger in the 2014 championship. With her tournament performance, the Iowa product was a unanimous selection for the C-USA Championship MVP award after allowing only two earned runs in three complete-game performances, including the league’s only perfect game in tournament history (round one against No. 8-seeded Charlotte).
Performing just as valiantly in the circle as Kramer was Owl ace Kylee Hanson, who kept the WKU offense at bay until the late Lady Topper surge. Hanson dealt out seven strikeouts en route to an all-tournament selection for the two-seeded Owls, which earned its sole run in the first inning off a Lochten sacrifice fly that scored Lindsey Shell.
With the win, WKU earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which will be its first appearance in the annual event since 2013.
C-USA All-Tournament Team
C – Alex Miller, Florida Atlantic
IF – Emily Lochten, Florida Atlantic
IF – Carnesha Thompson, Florida Atlantic
IF – Vivian Tijerina, UTSA
IF – Kathryn Downing, WKU
OF – Hayley Davis, UAB
OF – Kendall Burton, UTSA
OF – Carleigh Chaumont, WKU
DP – Randee Crawford, UTSA
UT – Bianca Duran, Louisiana Tech
P – Kylee Hanson, Florida Atlantic
P – Miranda Kramer, WKU
For photo galleries, postgame videos or any other information on the championship, visit the Championship Central page.
