Softball: ASU, ACU, SE triumphant in NCAA South Central Regional
Top-seed Angelo State came back to top St. Edward's, 10-5, at the NCAA Division II South Central Regional in San Angelo, Texas, while Abilene Christian edged Missouri Western, 2-1, and Southeastern Oklahoma squeaked by Central Missouri, 1-0, to advance at the regional in Durant, Okla.
The Rambelles will now face Emporia State at 2 p.m. Saturday in a winner's bracket game. St. Edward's will meet Nebraska-Omaha in a losers' bracket contest Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
In Durant, ACU and SE will square off at 11 a.m. on Saturday for a spot in the regional finals, while MWSU faces UCM at 1:30 p.m. in an elimination contest.
Abilene Christian put a pair of runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning which starter Jacque Gregoire utilized with a complete game effort marking her 22nd win of the year, allowing one run on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
SE's Marjorie Johnson tossed her 11th career no-hitter in a pitcher's duel with UCM's Megan Leonard. Johnson struck out 14 and walked one in seven innings to move to 24-5 on the season, while Leonard fell to 18-3 despite allowing just one unearned run on four hits with five K's.
SE had four players each pick up a hit, but the play of the game was a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt which Jennifer Morales laid down with a 0-2 count that plated Erika Bernal for the game's lone run.
Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Rambelles
opened the inning with back-to-back bunt singles by juniors Sarah
DeMoss and Nicole Smith. After a sacrifice bunt by junior Kristen
Frye and a walk by freshman Sandy James, senior Laura Lopez evened
the game, 3-3, with a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Rambelles
then got an RBI single by senior Macy Baker, an infield single by
sophomore Alix Dean and two-RBI hits by juniors Megan Pumphrey and
April Haywood. ASU capped the fourth-inning scoring with an RBI
single by DeMoss to give the Rambelles a 9-3 cushion.
Junior right-hander Chelsea Nelson (26-4) picked up the win giving
up three earned runs on five hits in six innings of work. Nelson
fanned 10 Hilltoppers and issued three walks. DeMoss ended the game
3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Baker and Dean each went
2-for-4.















