HARRISONBURG, Va.-- Fordham reached the Regional Final of the NCAA Softball Harrisonburg Regional, beating host No. 15 James Madison to advance to the Rams second-ever Regional Final.
But NC State, which issued Fordham's first loss of the regional on Friday, used a solo walk-off home run in the seventh inning to break a 1-1 tie and win the regional.
Full details on both games are below.
NC STATE 2, FORDHAM 1
The Fordham softball team saw its season end in heart-breaking fashion Sunday at Veterans Memorial Park when second-seeded North Carolina State hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Rams, 2-1, and win the Harrisonburg Regional. Fordham, who was playing in its second-ever regional final, sees its great season come to an end at 38-20, while the Wolfpack improves to 38-20 and travels to Oregon, the #2 overall national seed, for next weekend's Super Regional.
With the game all tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh, NC State's first batter of the inning, Maggie Hawkins, belted the second pitch to dead center field off Ram starter Rachel Gillen. It was Hawkins third hit and second RBI of the game and second home run off Gillen in the regional.
Gillen produced a 1-0 lead for Fordham in the top of the first when she singled sharply off the glove of Hawkins at first base. Sophomore Amy Van Hoven, who singled earlier in the inning, came around to score when the ball rolled into right field.
The Wolfpack would tie the game in the bottom of the fourth when they took advantage of a lead-off walk to Meredith Burroughs. After Macauley Prickett came in as a pinch runner, she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, before advancing to third on a comebacker to Gillen in the circle. But the lead-off walk came back to haunt the Rams, as Hawkins delivered a two-out RBI single to left to tie the game at 1-1.
Fordham could never get anything going off NC State starter Emily Weiman, who retired 15 in a row until senior Michele Daubman singled with two outs in the top of the seventh. Weiman (31-15) won her third game of the regional and allowed one unearned run on four hits, walked one and whiffed eight.
Gillen (24-9) was just as good for the Rams in their final game. The southpaw tossed her 20th complete game, allowed two earned runs on five hits, walked two and struck out five.
Sunday's contest marked the final game for Daubman, Kayla Lombardo, Paige Ortiz, Cora Ianiro, Brianna Turgeon and Serena Moroukian.
FORDHAM 2, JAMES MADISON 1
For the second time in program history, the Fordham softball team advanced to a regional final, after the third-seeded Rams upset the top seeded and the NCAA Championship's #15 overall seed James Madison, 2-1, in an elimination game of the Harrisonburg Regional that started Saturday night but finished Sunday morning at Veterans Memorial Park.
The game was suspended because of rain in the top of the sixth inning at approximately 10:30 p.m. Saturday night with Fordham leading the Dukes, 2-0, in the top of the sixth. JMU, who was the away team despite playing on its own field, had a 0-1 count with two outs and a man on first when play stopped.
Coming back Sunday morning, senior Michelle Daubman, who started in the circle for the Rams, got the batter out to end the inning, after she quickly threw to first to barely get the runner when she took a rocket line drive off her glove.
Fordham went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, before things got interesting in the top of the seventh. With one out, Daubman yielded a single up the middle to Alyssa Buddle, before allowing another single to right by Morgan Tolle. On the play, senior Cora Ianiro misplayed the ball, which allowed pinch runner Madyson Moran to advance to third. The base knock also knocked Daubman out of the game.
Junior Patti Maloney relieved Daubman and traded JMU's first run for the second out on Tahil Moore's RBI sacrifice fly to right field. The lineup then turned over for the Dukes, and Maloney and leadoff batter Niki Prince would battle for eight pitches, with one of them nearly landing fair down the left field line, which would have tied the game. But Maloney buckled down and got Prince to ground out weekly to sophomore Lindsay Mayer at third to clinch the victory.
Daubman (12-9) was fantastic in the circle, as she arguably put together one of the gutsiest performances of her career. She tossed 6.1 innings, scattered six hits, walked none and fanned two. She also worked out of a second and third one-out jam in the top of the second, before retiring the final three batters of the fourth when she allowed a lead-off triple. Maloney recorded her second save of the season.
The difference in the contest came with two outs in the bottom of the third when Mayer blasted a two-out two-run home run to center field, scoring sophomore Amy Van Hoven.
The home run was Mayer's ninth of the season and third of the regional. Mayer finished 2-for-3 to record half of Fordham's four hits.
Megan Good (29-3), who entered the game with only two losses and a 1.02 ERA in the circle, took the loss despite going the distance. She allowed two earned runs on four hits, walked none and struck out seven. Jailyn Ford had three of JMU's six hits, including the triple in the fourth.
The loss ends the Dukes' season at 48-10. It is the first time head coach Mickey Dean has lost back-to-back games at JMU and the first time since April 21, 2012 that the Dukes have lost back-to-back home games.