Top 10 Exciting Games of 2022-23 – No. 1 Softball Knocks Off Top Seed Salisbury to Open NCAA DIII Championship Finals

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University is continuing to look back at its 2022-23 athletic campaign. The final contest in the Top 10 Exciting Games from the past year is our No. 1 highlight – the softball team defeating top seed and No. 1 ranked Salisbury (Md.) University, 4-1, in the opening game of the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship Finals at East Texas Baptist University.

The contest on June 1 marked the first time in school history that Moravian had student-athletes compete in the month of June. The Greyhounds were making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship Finals and first since 2010.

After a scoreless first inning against the Sea Gulls, the Hounds scored four runs in the top of the second inning off the tournament's top seed. Sophomore right fielder Sage Snyder was the first to reach base when she was hit by a pitch, and junior designated player Emily Silberman singled. Freshman Hailey Tanner came in to run for Silberman, and sophomore center fielder Jessica Forder followed with a single to load the bases. Sophomore pitcher Madi Cunningham gave herself the lead with a two-RBI double off the wall in left field to score Snyder and Tanner. Sophomore third baseman Holly Walter connected on a two-RBI triple to chase Forder and Cunningham home.

Moravian would not score again but Cunningham and the Blue & Grey defense allowed Salisbury just a single run in the fifth inning as the squad moved into the winner's bracket for the second time at the Championship Finals. The program has four victories in its four trips to the finals with three of the wins coming versus Salisbury.

Cunningham went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a pair of doubles, and she also scattered eight hits in the circle to go with one strikeout for her 19th win of the season. The win was the Hounds' fifth in seven straight games versus nationally-ranked opponents during the postseason run.

Read the original game story at https://moraviansports.com/sports/sball/2022-23/releases/20230601us3wb0 with links to stats, photos and video of the game.

Moravian will begin counting down its the Top 10 Stories of 2022-23 with the Number 10 story being released on Monday, July 10.