New Castle, Del. - The Adelphi University softball team was stretched to 10 innings in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday - its second foray that deep in extras in as many postseason games over the past week.
However, unlike last Sunday's heartbreaking 3-2 walk-off defeat in Manchester, N.H. in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game to Saint Anselm, sixth-seeded Adelphi came out on the right side of a stunning first-round regional game against third-seeded Wilmington (Del.), 4-3.
Adelphi had been 0-2 in 10-inning affairs this season, having also dropped a 6-5 decision at Franklin Pierce in regular season NE10 play on April 6, and in the first of a potential seven games on tap overall in the East 2 Regional for this weekend, Adelphi (32-18) first held three different leads across the contest.
Much like the aforementioned NE10 title game, where the Panthers led 2-0 and 3-2 before eventually falling, Adelphi led 1-0 after the top of the first, 2-1 as late as the top of the seventh, and 3-2 after the top of the ninth - only to see Wilmington (39-14) rally to tie each time.
That set the stage for
Lauren O'Neill, whose two-run home run in the top of the seventh kick-started the scoring in the seventh inning of the league final, to tally the biggest, though maybe not hardest, hit of all.
Moved up to the fifth slot in the Adelphi batting order by head coach
Carla Campagna in Thursday's game, the sophomore snuck the game-winning single up the middle of a drawn-in infield to score
Emily Turney with the final go-ahead run of the contest, and
Ally Muller ended the game with her third 1-2-3 inning out of 10.0 thrown to seal it.
To take its earlier leads,
Hannah Pineda's line-drive single to center field in the opening inning scored the first Adelphi run on her NE10-leading 38th RBI of the season, before
Ashley Lombardi and
Nicoletta Cuccio cleared the left and center field fences, respectively, on home runs.
Never beaten, however, Wilmington put multiple baserunners on against Muller across the game, recording six hits and walking seven times, but stranded nine against her overall. That included stranding four in scoring position over the seventh, eighth and ninth innings as the Wildcats moved into position for a walk-off of their own.
Adelphi moves into the winner's bracket of the East 2 Regional, and will face the winner of second-seeded LIU Post and seventh-seeded New Haven in the first game of a possible three on the schedule for the second day of action on Friday. First pitch is slated for 10 a.m.
About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.
Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.
Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and wear your Panther pride by shopping official Adelphi Panthers gear at our licensed team store.
