Storm top Superior to stay alive, eliminated by St. Catherine
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Catherine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
|
Simpson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wis.-Superior | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
|
Simpson | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 5 | 10 | 0 |
DECORAH, Iowa - The Simpson softball team saw its run in the regional round of the 2016 NCAA Championship come to a close Saturday afternoon with an 8-3 loss to St. Catherine. Simpson beat Wis.-Superior 5-0 earlier in the day but were eliminated with the loss to the Wildcats.
Annie Stolte had two hits, a double and three RBIs in the win over fourth-seeded Superior, keeping the Storm (31-11) alive. Simpson needed a win over St. Catherine to earn a spot in Sunday's first championship against Luther, but the second-seeded Wildcats scored five runs in the fifth en-route to their second win over Simpson in the regional.
Abbie VanVleet and Brianna Chaplin hit solo homers in the loss. Stolte and Taylor Davis were named to the Decorah All-Region Team. Stolte went 3-for-8 with two doubles and a team-high three RBIs and Davis went 3-for-10 with two doubles. Davis didn't commit an error in 13 chances at third base.
Simpson 5, Wis.-Superior 0
Stolte drove in two runs on a single to right in the second inning and doubled in a run in the sixth as Simpson beat Superior for the second time in 2016. Davis put Simpson on the board in the first with an RBI double that scored Tori Haag, who led off the game with an infield single.
Davis went 3-for-4 with two doubles and VanVleet (14-4) scattered six hits in five-plus innings. Riley Fisher held the Yellowjackets hitless in the final two innings for her fourth save, tying Simpson's single-season record.
St. Catherine 8, Simpson 3
VanVleet gave Simpson a 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the second but Robyn Rohr tied it up with a solo shot of her own in the third. The score remained 1-1 until the Wildcats scored five runs with two outs in the fifth.
Arianna Kim drove in a run on a single in the bottom of the fifth and Chaplin hit a solo homer to left in the sixth to make it 6-3, but St. Catherine added two more in the seventh for the final margin.
Fisher (15-4) allowed six runs off just four hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking six. VanVleet tossed the final 1 1/3 innings.
The Storm closed the season with 41 home runs, two shy of tying the school record set in 2015.