ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Michelle Hofmann and Stacy Broman each hit home runs in the sixth inning to propel Angelo State to a 4-2 win over Shippensburg at the NCAA Division II Softball Championships.
The Rambelles (45-10) advance to tonight’s championship game, where they will face the winner of the St. Cloud State/Florida Southern game. ASU has the advantage of being the tournament’s lone unbeaten team, thus having to lose twice.
The Raiders (48-6) had plenty of chances, leaving a total of 12 runners on base. Ship was able to score a pair of runs in the first inning, but left the bases loaded.
ASU’s Arin Spence (22-5) would take over. The freshman hurler pitched five shutout innings, then Claudia Lopez entered and picked up the tournament’s first save.
A day after Diana Faulkner hit s three-run homer to lift Angelo State over St. Cloud State, it was the long ball that again paced the Rambelles to victory.
All four ASU runs were scored on home runs. Shippensburg’s Kelley Tiesi (30-3) gave up as many home runs in a 15-minute span as she had the entire season.
The fireworks started with one out in the sixth inning. After an Alexis Wing single, Hofmann drove Tiesi’s next pitch over the right field wall to tie the game at two. After Tiesi struck out Faulkner, Broman hit a solo shot that gave the ‘Belles a 3-2 lead. Cat Moreno led off the seventh inning with a solo home run.
