Roanoke to Face Salisbury on Saturday

SALEM, Va. --- The Roanoke College softball team fell in game two of the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball Atlantic Regional Tournament on Thursday, 8-0 in five innings to Christopher Newport.  The Maroons now sit with a record of 30-13, while the Captains move to the Friday, 2:00 PM game against Salisbury with a record of 33-11.

This is the second consecutive year that the Maroons have faced off against the Captains in NCAA Regional Tournament play.  In 2012, Roanoke defeated then #10 ranked Christopher Newport in back-to-back games to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Maroons advance to game #5 of the NCAA Regional Tournament against Penn State-Altoona at 10:00 AM on Friday, May 10th.

The Captains started scoring in the bottom of the first inning as Sabrina Hill hit a two RBI single to right field, allowing Kristina McLaughlin and Chelsea Mitchell to score on a fielding error and Candice Zollars also scored on the play.  In the bottom of the second inning, CNU's Meagan Jones singled up the middle to bring around Hannah Marshall for a 4-0 lead.

Hill struck again in the bottom of the third inning as she hit a two RBI home run.  With those two runs, the Captains had built a 6-0 lead after three innings.  In the bottom of the fourth, Hill brought around Kelley Foate on a bases loaded walk, pulling ahead by seven.  Alexis Pope completed the eight run advantage after an RBI sacrifice fly ball, plating Chelsea Mitchell.  The Maroons were unable to get a run on the board in the top of the fifth, falling to Christopher Newport, 8-0 in five innings.

The Maroons picked up three hits on the morning, one each from Leona Rainey, Kelly Higbie and Meghan Weingard.  Higbie was tabbed with the loss in the circle, pitching 2.2 innings, giving up five runs and striking out one.

Christopher Newport was led by Kristina McLaughlin, Sabrina Hill and Taylor Dillow, who finished the game with two hits each.  Sabrina Hill led all players in RBIs, knocking in five runs.  Whitney Haller pitched the complete game shutout, only giving up three hits and striking out four.

The Maroons play against Penn State-Altoona on Friday morning in game #5 of the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball Atlantic Regional Tournament.  That contest is scheduled for a 10:00 AM first pitch.

--- This release is courtesy of the Roanoke College sports information department. ---
http://maroons.roanoke.edu