May 12, 2012

Box Score

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ST. LOUIS – Top-seeded Massachusetts (38-11) defeated fourth-seeded George Washington (25-30), 3-2, on a Kyllie Magill walk-off home run to capture the 2012 Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Championship.

For the third time in as many games in this year’s tournament, Massachusetts relied on the arm of A-10 Player and Pitcher of the Year, Sara Plourde, to capture its seventh A-10 title in the last eight years, and its 23rd overall. With the win, Massachusetts receives the A-10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The berth marks a return to the NCAA Tournament for Massachusetts for the first time since the 2010 season.

Plourde (36-9), who was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player, did not allow a hit through her first six innings of work en route to going the distance for the Minutewomen in the win. She threw all seven innings allowing two runs on only one hit while striking out 11.

Taking the loss for George Washington was starter Heidi Penna. Penna (7-3), gave up three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits over 6.2 innings.

Massachusetts got on the board first in the first inning after Cyndill Matthew drew a lead-off walk and then later scored on a Lindsey Webster sacrifice fly to give the Minutewomen an early 1-0 lead.

Following a scoreless top half of the second inning, Massachusetts added another run on an RBI single by Quianna Diaz-Patterson that pushed the UMass lead to 2-0.

George Washington made things interesting in the top of the seventh inning when Victoria Valos broke up Plourde’s no-hit bid by hitting the game-tying home run to even the score up at 2-2.

Then with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the seventh inning, Kyllie Magill of Massachusetts took the pitch from Penna and hit it over the right field wall to win the game in walk-off fashion for the Minutewomen.

The field of 64 for the NCAA Division I Softball Championships will be announced on Sunday, May 13 at 10:00 PM ET on ESPNU. The one-hour show will include tournament predictions, analysis of the bracket and phone interviews with some of the top head coaches in the nation.

A-10 Softball All-Tournament Team
Kalie Lang, Charlotte
Jamie LaBovick, Fordham
Jen Mineau, Fordham
Kara Clauss, George Washington
Heidi Penna, George Washington
Victoria Valos, George Washington
Kyllie Magill, Massachusetts
Cyndill Matthew, Massachusetts
Sara Plourde, Massachusetts
Erin Gallagher, Saint Joseph’s
Dana Parks, Saint Joseph’s

Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Sara Plourde, Massachusetts