The No. 19-ranked Angelo State softball team (49-14) was sent to the losers' bracket after a 1-0, 10-inning loss to No. 3-ranked Hawaii Pacific Friday in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Division II National Championship Finals.
The Rambelles will next play at 5 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game against either Molloy or Bloomsburg. Those two teams will play at 12 p.m. Saturday in an elimination game. HPU advances to the national semifinals and will next play at 2:30 p.m. Sunday against an opponent yet to be determined.
The Sea Warriors (48-8) scored the only run of the game with two outs in the top of the 10th frame when they took advantage of ASU's first error of the national finals. With runners at the corners, pinch runner Malia Killam stole second, but the throw back to the pitcher got away and allowed Kozy Toriano to score from third base. The next batter, Breanne Patton, ground out first base to end the frame. It was the only time in the contest that HPU got a runner to third base.
ASU had a chance to end the game in the bottom of the seventh, eventually loading the bases. Junior Brittany Astle led off the final inning of regulation with her second hit of the game, a single up the middle, and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Chelsey Walters. One batter later, the Rambelles had a chance for a walk-off hit, but HPU's Toriano robbed a potential game-winning double off the bat of ASU senior Megan Pumphrey with a leaping catch near the center field wall. ASU followed up with a hitter batter, senior Nicole Smith, and an infield single by senior Sarah DeMoss to load the bases with two outs, but was not able to bring home the game-ending run.
Senior right-hander Chelsea Nelson (28-9) had one of her best performances of the postseason as she limited the Sea Warriors to just six hits. Nelson retired the first seven HPU batters of the game before giving up an infield single with one out in the third inning. She later retired 13 consecutive HPU hitters from, spanning sixth to the 10th inning, and ended the game with four strikeouts with no walks in a 10.0-inning performance, her second longest of her career.
Astle ended the game 2-for-4 with a double while junior Kaycee Taylor went 2-for-5. Astle's double came with one out in the second inning as she nearly belted a home run over the left field fence, hitting two feet shy of the top of the wall.
HPU's Sherise Marquiz (32-3) battled with Nelson as she also gave up six hits and had four strikeouts and issued two free passes. Toriano led the Sea Warriors with a 2-for-4 performance with a run scored.
Now in four trips to the NCAA D-II National Championship Finals, the Rambelles dropped to 1-3 in second round games, losing their third consecutive such game in the final inning. In 2007, ASU dropped a 6-5 decision in the bottom of the seventh inning on a walk-off home run by Lock Haven. Last spring, the Rambelles were handed a 3-2, 11-inning defeat to North Georgia as the Saints scored three runs in the bottom of the 11th frame after ASU grabbed a 2-0 lead in its half of the inning. The Rambelles are 1-1 in games after a second-round defeat, including a 7-3 win over Winona State last season.
