Grage Throws Complete Game in Rochester's Win vs. Salem State
MANSFIELD, Conn. – Brittany Grage pitched a complete-game seven hitter and hit a two-run home run to help her own cause as the University of Rochester defeated Salem State University, 4-3, in an elimination round game of the NCAA Division III Softball Championships. The tournament is being hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University.
The victory puts Rochester into an 11 am game on Saturday against top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State. The Warriors lost to Coast Guard, 5-0. They are 41-2 and ranked second nationally.
Salem State, which had three hits and one unearned run over the first five innings, staged a rally in the sixth (which came up short) and scored twice in the seventh with two out. The game ended with the tying run being thrown out at third base trying to advance on a ball that got away briefly.
Grage pitched out of a bases-loaded, no out jam in the sixth. Gabbie Vitale reached on an infield single and Alyssa Bryan singled up the middle. Vitale raced to third and Bryan took second on the throw. She walked Jenn Toussaint on four straight. Salem put in Ashley Aldred as a runner at first for Toussaint.
Lauren Garchinsky popped to second (infield fly). Christina Cipriani hit a soft liner to second, and Paige Flemming hit a full-count grounder to shirt and was thrown out by Meg Hennessy.
In the seventh, Grage got a strikeout and a bounceout. Michelle Grifoni singled to center. Grage hit Vitale with a pitch and Bryan followed with a double in the right centerfield gap scoring both runners. Toussaint walked for the second straight time. The first pitch to Garchinsky rolled partially away from Rochester catcher Alyssa Murillo. She recovered it and fired to third base where Steph Brunet tagged out Bryan trying to advance.
Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the second. Kristen Baldino singled through the left side. Gena Bradford Tume bunted her to second. Natalie Sassaman doubled down the left field line, scoring the run.
Salem State scored an unearned run in the second. Garchinsky reached on an error and was bunted to second. Flemming hit a swinging bunt down the first base line. Nina Korn fielded it and threw home, trapping Garchinsky off third. She was tagged out when Murillo threw to Hennessy covering the base. Flemming advanced to second on the rundown. Sarra Bergeron’s double scored Flemming to tie it at 1-1.
In the Rochester third, Katie McLean singled. Korn popped up. Grage hit a 3-1 pitch over the fence in right field, her eighth home run of the season. The Yellowjackets loaded the bases in the fifth with two down, but couldn’t break through.
Korn homered for the second straight game, this one a solo shot to right field leading off the seventh. It turned out to be the gamewinner. It was her ninth of the season. She finished with three of Rochester’s nine hits. Sassaman had two hits.
Grage scattered seven hits, walked two, and fanned three. She allowed three runs, two earned. Katelynn Fanning took the loss for Salem State. She allowed nine hits, four earned runs, walked three, and struck out four. She is 12-7. Grage is 12-6.
Rochester improved to 29-14. The win is the 300th in school history. This is the 15th year of softball as a varsity sport. Salem State finished 33-14.