DETRIOT, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University softball team need a seventh inning rally to move into the NCAA Midwest Regional #1 final against Wayne State on Sunday (May 16) at Noon.
After dropping its winners bracket game to Wayne State 9-0 earlier in the day, the Cardinals needed a rally in the top of the seventh to push the game into extra innings. Ashley Coffin (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson HS) laced a leadoff double off the fence to to give SVSU its first scoring chance of the afternoon. A sacrifice bunt by Ashley Jordan (Freeland, Mich.) to advance Coffin to third, set-up a deep SAC fly by Jillian Peterson (Freeland, Mich.) to knot the score at 1-1.
Jessica McKeith (River Rouge, Mich.) dropped a perfect bunt to lead off the eighth inning and after a walk to Shannon McLaughlin (Benton Harbor, Mich./Watervliet HS), Nicole Bigelow advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt to give the Cardinals runners on second and third. Freshman Kailah Happ (Waterford, Mich./Kettering HS) drove in McKeith with a perfectly placed bunt for a single to give SVSU a 2-1 advantage.
Kari Bowlby (Elkhart, Ind./Central HS) would finish off the Hawks in the bottom of the inning to advance to Sunday's final. Bowlby scattered seven hits over eight innings of work, allowing one run and striking out four as she picked up her 11th win on the season.
SVSU improves to 29-15 overall on the season, while Quincy sees its season end with a 37-17 overall record on the season.