April 22, 2011

Box Score

PETERSBURG, VA - Before Britney Cato stepped to the plate in the fifth inning, the Winston-Salem State Rams had been held in check offensively.

Check mate.

With the bases loaded, Cato belted a three-run double to fuel a four-run fifth inning as the Winston-Salem State Lady Rams came from behind to knock Chowan from the winners' bracket and advance to the CIAA Softball Championship round after a 5-3 victory on Friday afternoon at Virginia State University.

With the win, the Lady Rams (28-11) emerged from the opening rounds of the tournament as the lone unbeaten team, and will have to be beaten twice in the title round to lose the championship.

The Lady Rams found the runs hard to come by early in the game as Hawks starting pitcher Christie Wright was cruising. Despite being touched for a run on two hits in the second inning, Wright had limited the damage, and held the Rams to just four hits through four innings as Chowan held onto a 2-1 lead.

But the CIAA Southern Division champion Lady Rams put immediate pressure on the Hawks in the fifth. After loading the bases around an out, Nikki Lynch drew a walk to drive in a run to tie the game at two. In stepped Cato, who blasted Wright's offering to deep right-center field to clear the bases and gave the Lady Rams their first lead of the game, 5-2.

Chowan, the Northern Division champion, managed a run on an Allie Kolezynski single in the top of the seventh, but sophomore pitcher Brittany Lane retired the nation's leading run-producer, Tricia Gorman, to end the game. Lane (17-5) earned the win with seven complete innings, allowing three runs on seven hits to go with four strikeouts. Cato and sophomore outfielder Shantel Haskins each had a pair of hits for the Lady Rams.

Due to inclement weather, play was suspended on Friday afternoon so the Lady Rams face the winners of tomorrow morning's 10:00 a.m. game between Chowan and Virginia State. The Lady Rams are currently scheduled to play at 2:00 p.m. For more information on Lady Rams softball, contact the WSSU Office of Athletic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.