Bears End Season With 7-2 Loss to Webster at NCAA Regionals

WASHU-WEBSTER BOX

Indianola, Iowa, May 10, 2009 – The No. 3 seed Washington University in St. Louis softball team ended its season with a 7-2 loss to No. 8 seed Webster University in the 2009 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional held on Sunday at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa.

Washington U., which recorded 35 hits in its previous three wins out of the loser’s bracket, were limited to four hits.

Webster senior catcher Dana Vahey went 2-for-3 with two home runs and RBI in the win for Webster, which will take on No. 7 seed Gustavus Adolphus University on Sunday at 3 p.m. in championship game. A win for Webster over Gustavus would force a deciding game two on Monday at 10 a.m. for a berth in the NCAA Division III College World Series in Montclair, N.J.

The Gorloks jumped on Voris with three hits in the first two innings of play, and a two-out double by Erin Coit gave Webster a 1-0 lead in the second. The run given up by Voris was just the second in the NCAA Tournament, and snapped an 18-inning scoreless streak. Vahey pushed the advantage to 3-0 in the third as she launched a two-run home run to left field with two outs.

Junior Ashton Hitchcock singled to left on an 11-pitch to begin the fourth inning to give the Bears some momentum. Two pitches later, senior Lindsay Cavarra drilled a pitch over the centerfield fence to trim the lead to 3-2. The home run for Cavarra was her third of the season and sixth of her career.

Vahey did it again in the fifth on the first pitch she saw from Voris, drilling a pitch over the centerfield fence for a three-run home run to give Webster a commanding 6-2 lead. Voris (19-7) lasted 4 2/3 innings allowing eight hits and six runs while striking out 10 before giving way to freshman Olivia Cook.

The Bears, who made its eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after, ends its season with a 27-13 overall record. Washington U. also won the University Athletic Association (UAA) for the sixth-straight season.

Bear Notebook: The Bears are 9-10 all-time against Webster … Washington U. is 0-11 when being out-hit by an opponent … Voris’ six earned runs is the most she has given up in her two-year career.