ROCHESTER, N.Y. --- Senior center fielder Dior George connected on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for an RBI walk-off single to give the No. 17 ranked and top seeded Moravian College softball team a 3-2 victory over host and second seed the University of Rochester Friday in the final game of the opening day of the NCAA Division III Regionals.
With the victory, the Greyhounds improve to 36-5 on the season and are one win away from the program's first NCAA Division III Super Regional appearance after the NCAA switched to the format last season. Moravian and Rochester will face off on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. If the Hounds win, they will advance to the next round. If the Yellow Jackets earn a victory, then the two squads will play an if necessary contest on Saturday to determine the regional winner.
Freshman hurler Josie Novak improved to 17-4 in the circle as she allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and a walk to go along with nine strikeouts to raise her season total to 156.
The Blue & Grey had nine hits in the game on Friday afternoon with George going 2-for-5 and senior designated player Lizzie Mack turning in a 2-for-3 performance.
Rochester jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and the game remained that way until the Greyhounds scored twice in the home half of the fourth inning. Sophomore left fielder Julie Siragusa led off with a single up the middle before Mack reached on a throwing error after putting down a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore third baseman Victoria Conner also put down a bunt, beating it out for a hit to load the bases. After an out, sophomore pinch hitter Abby Jeffries connected on an RBI infield single to plate Siragusa with the tying run. Sophomore pinch hitter Madison Newhouser hit into an RBI fielder's choice to score Mack and give the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead.
The Yellow Jackets got the run right back in the top of the fifth on a pair of errors by the Hounds to knot the score at 2-2.
Moravian would have its chances to end the game in regulation, stranding runners at second in the fifth inning and first and second in the seventh inning but the Greyhounds didn't score. The Blue & Grey would strand another two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth with both in scoring position as Moravian left 10 runners on base throughout the contest.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, senior first baseman Jenn Dalickas doubled with one out after being walked three times in the game, twice intentionally, to increase her school records to 46 walks on the season and 83 for her career. Freshman Jackie Marshall came on to pinch run, and she scored the winning run on George's RBI single.
George worked the count full, fouling a ball off her left ankle in the process. On the 10th pitch of the at-bat, she drove it to the warning track in left center, beyond a fielder's glove.
"There is definitely pressure being a senior captain," commented George after the game. "It's how you handle it. I was able to pull through the second time around. I had to get that run in. We didn't know how much Josie had left."
"We couldn't get the fly ball (earlier in the game) that we needed," said Moravian Head Coach John Byrne. "Dior's been around long enough. She battled with two strikes."
Photo by Jonah George
