Box Score

ETTRICK, VA. – The Chowan University Softball team defeated Bowie State in the 2017 CIAA Softball Championship Game 6-1 on Saturday afternoon.  Chowan receives to automatic berth into the NCAA DII Softball Championships with their third CIAA Title since joining the league in 2009-10.

THE BASICS

FINAL | Chowan 6, Bowie State 1

LOCATION | Ettrick, Va. (VSU Softball Field)

RECORDS | Chowan 36-18, Bowie State 22-20

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Tina White, Kris Neal, and Emily Stafford led the Hawks at the plate with two hits each.  White and Neal registered a triple, while Haley Cooper posted a double.

Brook Bowen, Haley Cooper, Danielle Baccus, Tina White and Brittany Parsons tallied a RBI apiece.

Kayla Robins grabbed the win in the circle to move to 24-8 on the season.  Robins picked up the complete game allowing one run off four hits and dished out 11 strikeouts.

Kris Neal, Tina White, Danielle Baccus and Kayla Robins were named to the CIAA All-Tournament Team.  Kayla Robins was also named CIAA All-Tournament MVP.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Bowie State delivered the first blow in the contest in the top of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead.  After a quick out to start the inning, the Bulldogs posted back-to-back hits to put a runner in scoring position.  A sacrifice fly and aggressive base running allowed the Bulldogs to get on the board.

Chowan countered in the bottom of the inning to take the lead and never look back.  Katrina Simmons started off the inning with an infield single to the shortstop.  Simmons would swipe second and moved to third tagging up on a fly out.  Danielle Baccus hit a single to right field to knot things at 1-all.  Tina White gave the Hawks the lead with a triple to left center for the 2-1 advantage.

Kayla Robins settled in during the second inning striking out the side.

Kris Neal pushed the Hawk advantage to 3-1 in the bottom of the second inning after a lead-off triple.  Neal would score later in the inning on a wild pitch.

Chowan tacked on another run in the bottom of the third inning on a walk, single and a Bulldog error to lead 4-1.  Haley Cooper drew a one-out walk before Tina White moved her to second on a single through the left side.  Brittany Parson brought home Cooper after reaching on an error by the Bulldogs' third baseman.

The Hawks continued to score in the bottom of the fourth and keep the Bulldogs at-bay.  Shannon Buchanan walked to lead off the fourth.  Emily Stafford reached on an infield single to put a runner in scoring position.  Haley Cooper would deliver with two outs with a double down the left field line to push the Hawks' lead to 5-1.

Bowie State made some noise in the top of the sixth inning getting two runners on base.  The Bulldogs started the inning reaching base via a Chowan miscue and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.  A single through the left side of the infield put runners on the corners.  Robins would get the final two outs of the inning to stop the threat.

Chowan posted their final run of the contest in the bottom of the sixth inning after a lead-off single by Emily Stafford turned into a three-base effort following an error by the Bulldog outfield.  Brook Bowen brought home Stafford on a sacrifice fly to left and give the Hawks a 6-1 advantage.

The Bulldogs tried to rally in the top of the seventh loading the bases with two outs.  A walk and a bunt single sparked the rally.  Bowie State loaded the bases after a drop third strike got away from the catcher.  Chowan settled down and recorded the final out of the game on a fly out.