ALBANY, Ga. -- After spending four long years away from postseason play due to NCAA reclassification rules, Spring Hill College's softball team defeated Tuskegee University, 3-1, to win the 2019 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship at the Gordon Sports Complex.
"The whole coaching staff, we're all extremely proud of them," said second-year SHC head coach
Steve Kittrell, who was named SIAC Coach of the Year for winning his first collegiate softball conference tournament. He won nine conference tournament titles during a 26-year college baseball career. "We started 3-10 and things could have gone a lot of different directions. They stayed true to the task and true to the goal. It was great to see for me personally, coming back after a few years in retirement, to see that celebration after that final out."
SIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player
Hannah Brenton pitched her third complete game of the tournament, allowing only one unearned run while striking out eight batters to pick up the victory for the Badgers. The win marks the first conference tournament championship for the softball program since taking the Southern States Athletic Conference crown as members of the NAIA in 2014. The win also gives SHC Athletics its fourth conference tournament championship this season (SIAC - women's volleyball, women's cross country; Gulf South Conference - Men's Soccer) in the first athletic year it has been eligible for postseason play in NCAA Division II due to reclassification rules.
It was Tuskegee that got out in front by taking the lead in the top of the third as Jasmyne Lawrence doubled to center, then scored on Sierra Smith's single through the right side of the infield. The Badgers would quickly respond.
Delaney Thomas doubled down the line in left, then moved up to third on
Hannah Fillmore's single through the left side.
Aly Fowler would get Thomas to the plate as the catcher's sacrifice fly to left was deep enough to allow Thomas to score the tying run.
"It was huge for us to come back quickly. The girls didn't panic," said Coach Kittrell. "They showed some poise. Tuskegee is another really well-coached team, and we really had to work hard against them. It was important for us to answer quickly like we did. [Friday against Kentucky State] we were down 3-1 and came back with four runs in the sixth, but we can't always count on being able to do that."
Brenton retired TU in order in the fourth, then found she had a lead to work with thanks to her teammates after the bottom of the inning.
Elise Caruso singled up the middle with one out, then moved up 60-feet to second on a passed ball.
Carmen Byrd would ground out to third, but as Caruso raced across the diamond to get to third, the first baseman's throw back was wild. Caruso would trot home with the go-ahead run and SHC had the lead for the first time in the game.
In the sixth, the Golden Tigers mounted their biggest challenge of the game against Brenton and the Badgers. With one on and two out, Kendra Gibbons singled and Chelsea Mowery walked to load the bases. Undaunted, Brenton would get CeCe Tennessee to pop a 1-1 offering back to the circle to end the biggest threat from TU.
"[Hannah] got really strong," Coach Kittrell said. "She pitched really outstanding for us and deserved to be the tournament MVP.Â
The Badgers would tack on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning.
Carlisle Jamison laid down a perfect bunt for a single, then was lifted for pinch runner
Brittany Hartung.
Tiffany Fairchild would then sacrifice Hartung into scoring position. Two batters later and with two out in the frame, Caruso would go the opposite way on an 0-2 pitch for an RBI single into right, plating Hartung and giving the Badgers a two-run cushion.
From there, the Badgers would close the game out. Brenton would strike out the first batter of the seventh, then would field her position on a bunt as she threw to Thomas covering at first for the second out of the inning. With one out to go, Brenton would get a pop-up in to foul territory that would be caught by Fillmore, touching off a celebration on the diamond as the Badgers claimed the conference title.
Brenton would be joined on the All-Tournament Team by Thomas and Fowler. Thomas had the second-highest slugging percentage in the tournament (.833) and led the tournament in runs scored (six). Fowler hit .444 for the tournament and drove in three runs, in addition to throwing out a runner trying to steal while posting a perfect fielding percentage without any passed balls behind the plate. Brenton posted an ERA of 0.95 for the tournament, striking out a tournament-high 23 batters.
The conference title is Kittrell's second as a Spring Hill College head coach. He coached the SHC baseball team to a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference title in 1983 before beginning his 25-year career as the baseball coach at the University of South Alabama (USA), winning 1,052 games and eight Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles, retiring from coaching in 2011. He returned to SHC in 2018 as softball coach.
The Badgers (30-19) will now wait until this Monday, May 6 at 9 a.m. to find out where they will be placed in the field of 64 teams that makes the NCAA Division II Softball Championship. Regional play will take place at 16 campus sites May 9-11, with 16 teams advancing to Super Regional play on campus sites May 16-17. The final eight teams will convene at the Regency Athletic Complex in Denver, Colorado, for the final round May 23-27.
"Now we have an exciting week ahead of us, and an exciting challenge ahead of us," said Coach Kittrell. "We want to go out, wherever we get sent, and play our best softball of the year. To our girls' credit, they've been playing their best softball this past month. It's a very exciting time. Wherever we get sent, we're going to be excited and we're going to play to the best of our abilities."
2019 SIAC Softball All-Tournament Team
Hannah Brenton, SHC
Aly Fowler, SHC
Delaney Thomas, SHC
Jamea Lyons, Tuskegee
Kyah Dumas, Tuskegee
Paola Flores, Kentucky State
Jackie Zubiate, Kentucky State
Shakerra Geter, Fort Valley State
Megan Sheperd, Albany State
JaiMesca Parks, Lane
MVP:
Hannah Brenton
