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DENVER, COLO. – Saint Anselm's Abbie Murrell hit a ball down the right field line, scoring the winning run from third, with one out in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Hawks to a 3-2 victory over West Chester at the NCAA Division II National Championships at Assembly Athletic Complex Thursday afternoon.
West Chester (34-15) got a splendid pitching performance from senior righty
Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley). Two solo home runs by Saint Anselm's Bre Klaiber was all the Hawks could muster until the seventh when a costly error opened the door for the Northeast-10 Champions.
Klaiber's first home run came with two outs in the bottom of the first that put Saint Anselm on top, 1-0. She then tied the game in the sixth with another line drive that just got over the center field fence.
"That's one of those decisions as a coach that I will think about forever," West Chester coach
Diane Lokey said. "I was going to go out there and make sure that everyone knew we were still staying out on her – even with a 2-0 count on her."
"I honestly thought they were going to walk me," Klaiber said. "I just told myself that if they throw a strike, I gotta hit it hard."
West Chester originally tied the game in the fourth when
Jaime Klemas (South Brunswick, N.J./South Brunswick) doubled to right-center, scoring
Madison Melvin (Tabernacle, N.J./Seneca) from second. Melvin reached on a bunt single and then stole second. It was Klemas' third base hit off Saint Anselm pitcher Morgan Perry in her career. Klemas was 2-for-3 against Perry their freshman year.
"I don't remember facing her as a freshman," Klemas admitted. "But, it gives me confidence going up against her. I'm sure she is a different pitcher than she was three years ago."
The Golden Rams then took the lead in the fifth when
Annamarie Hartman (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier Prep.) led off with a single, and
Grace Aguilar (Frederica, Del./Lake Forest) sacrificed her to second.
Emily Kim (Bel Air, Md./C. Milton Wright) then laid down a perfect bunt single to leave runners at the corners with one out.
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Hartman with the go-ahead run.
West Chester scored two runs on five hits against the national pitcher of the year Thursday. Saint Anselm finished with three runs on five hits to pick up the win. Perry improved to 20-1 on the year with the win. Hanshaw fell to 19-5.
The Golden Rams play in an elimination game Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. EST. against Grand Valley State.
