No. 4 Moravian Holds Off Scranton to Capture 2021 Landmark Conference Title & Automatic Berth to NCAA DIII Tournament

BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The top seed and No. 4 ranked Moravian College softball squad jumped out to an 8-0 lead and hung on for a 9-8 victory over second seed The University of Scranton in the if necessary game of the 2021 Landmark Conference Championship series at Blue & Grey Field on Sunday as the Greyhounds earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Moravian now has nine Landmark Conference titles, 17 total conference championships and has earned its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance.

How It Happened

• The Greyhounds jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Junior first baseman Alexandria Scheeler started the scoring with an RBI single before freshman designated player Emily Silberman connected on a grand slam to right center field, her third homer of the season
• Moravian pushed the advantage to 8-0 in the bottom of the third frame as Scheeler ripped an RBI double and senior third baseman Maddisen Bieber hit a two-run homer
• The Royals would get on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth, and Scranton added four more runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 8-5
• The Hounds would get what ended up being the winning run in the bottom of the fifth when senior catcher Brooke Wehr connected on a solo homer to left centerfield, her team-leading sixth home run of the season and the 28th of her career
• Scranton added three more runs in the top of the sixth to get within the final score of 9-8
• Senior Meghan Bauer earned the win in the circle to improve to 9-0 on the year, and she had a pair of strikeouts in 5.2 innings of action while sophomore Madison Hummel tossed 1.1 innings 

Inside the Numbers

• Moravian had seven hits in the game with Scheeler and Wehr each going 2-for-2 with a walk. Scheeler added two RBIs, two runs and a double while Wehr, who was the Landmark Conference Tournament's Most Valuable Player, had three runs and an RBI
• Wehr is now tenth in school history with 176 career hits, third all-time with 140 runs scored, tied for fifth with 119 RBIs and third with 28 home runs 
• Four of the Hounds' seven hits were for extra bases with the home runs by Wehr, Silberman and Bieber and a double from Scheeler

Up Next for the Greyhounds

• TBA in NCAA Division III Tournament. Site, date & opponent to be announced during NCAA selection show on Monday, May 17 at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com