Six teams – Caldwell, Shippensburg, Kennesaw State, Angelo State, Western New Mexico and Northern Kentucky each won regional tournaments on Saturday to earn a berth in the Division II national tournament next week in Orlando, Fla.
Alabama-Huntsville forced a second game with host Florida Southern in the South while sixth-seeded Concordia-St. Paul will take on St. Cloud State for the right to represent the North Central region.
Caldwell rallied behind of All-Region pitcher Corrine Resier to knock off upset-minded Merrimack in the Northeast regional final. The Cougars held off Merrimack for a 3-2 win in nine innings.
Shippensburg had little trouble in the Mid-Atlantic regional. The Raiders gave up just one run in their three games to make a second consecutive appearance in the national tournament. Shippensburg defeated PSAC rival Kutztown 2-1 in the final game.
Top-ranked Kennesaw State won its 64th game of the season with a 5-1 victory over Presbyterian in the South Atlantic final. Before the championship game, the Owls had won a pair of hard fought one run games – 1-0 over Presbyterian on Thursday and a nine-inning, 2-1 win over Armstrong Atlantic on Friday.
High-powered Angelo State scored 21 runs in its three games to claim the South Central region. The Belles knocked off Colorado-Colorado Springs 9-1 in the final game. Host and top-seeded St. Mary’s dropped a 7-4 decision to Angelo and an 8-6 game to UCCS.
Western New Mexico cruised through the West regional, defeating Humboldt State 3-0 on Friday and 2-0 in the regional final to earn a trip to Orlando.
Northern Kentucky will represent the Great Lakes Region after a 4-0 win over Grand Valley State on Saturday. All-Region performer Krystal Lewallen tossed a one-hit shutout in the final.
The Norse will face the Concordia-St. Cloud winner on Thursday. Other first-round matchups include Caldwell vs. Western New Mexico, Angelo State vs. Shippensburg and Kennesaw State meets the Alabama-Huntsville-Florida Southern winner.