NCAA Division II Softball Championship 

Second-ranked Lock Haven kicked off its national title defense with a 3-0 win over No. 1 Columbus State Thursday afternoon at the NCAA Division II Softball Championship in Akron, Ohio. 

Kristin Erb hurled a two-hit shuout for the Lady Eagles, and she gave the Lady Eagles all the edge they needed with her two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the third off fellow Louisville Slugger/NFCA First Team All-American Amber Browning. 

“It was down and away,” Erb said. “I took it that way. That’s the first off-field home run I think I’ve ever hit.” 

Lock Haven moves to 50-3 and will face Angelo State Friday at 5 p.m. EDT. Erb advanced her record to 37-2 as she dropped CSU to 55-4 on the year. 

“When we play our game, we’re tough to beat,” LHU head coach Kelley Green said. “The way we do things is to stay composed. We pride ourselves on pitching and defense. We don’t do anything fancy. We have nine fielders who want the ball.” 

Browning allowed all three runs, the third coming on a Devin Glezen home run in the bottom of the sixth, on five hits with nine strikeouts in the complete-game effort.