After about a nine-hour weather delay in the first inning, Virginia Wesleyan got off to a frustrating start in the eight-team NCAA Division III softball double-elimination championship bracket in Marshall, Texas.
In a game interrupted Thursday afternoon that finished early Friday morning, the fifth-seeded Marlins lost 4-1 to fourth-seeded Wisconsin-Oshkosh. VWU outhit the Titans 10-5, but couldn’t get key hits against winner Brianna Bougie, who pitched 6 2/3 innings for a victory that snapped the Marlins’ six-game winning streak.
VWU will play an elimination game Friday afternoon against eighth-seeded Tufts of Boston, which lost 2-1 to top-seeded Linfield of Oregon in the only other contest completed.
The game began about an hour late after the first weather delay, and the top of the first inning was a harbinger. The Marlins stranded two runners and failed to score despite hits by Sarah Prosser — her first of three — and Laci Campbell.
VWU pitcher Emma Adams retired the first batter she faced in the bottom of the first, and the game was then suspended with the seemingly interminable delay.
When the game resumed under the lights and likely after some fans of both teams had fallen asleep, Oshkosh went ahead 2-0 in the second inning. Hannah Ritter singled, and pinch runner Lizzie Slobodecki advanced to second on a groundout and to third on Abby Garceau’s infield hit.
Slobodecki scored on Haylie Wittman’s groundout to second, and Garceau came home on an infield error.
In the third, the Titans (45-5) moved ahead 3-0. Sydney Rau bunted for a single, then advanced on a groundout and Sophie Wery’s single. Rau scored on Ritter’s groundout.
Two VWU errors in the sixth opened the door for Wittman’s RBI single to left, putting the Titans ahead 4-0.
The Marlins (40-9) threatened in the seventh. Karley Beltran and Prosser singled with one out, and Mackenzie Myers singled with two out to load the bases. Pinch hitter Alison Pollack drew a walk to force in a run, prompting Oshkosh coach Scott Beyer to bring in Sydney Nemetz in relief. Nemetz struck out Olivia Knight swinging to end the game.
