Chris Wade
WVSU 2006

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – With all the pressure of an elimination game, West Virginia State's Emily Moore and Gannon's Madi Beining engaged in a pitcher's duel trying to continue their team's season.
After a scoreless five innings, Moore and the Yellow Jackets finally broke through in the sixth inning leading WVSU to a hard fought 1-0 victory over Beining and Gannon in the NCAA Division II Softball Atlantic Region 2 Tournament on Friday afternoon at Lady Jackets Field.

With the victory, State improves to 34-15 on the season and kept their season alive. The Yellow Jackets advanced to play Winston-Salem State, also on Friday, in an elimination game. Gannon ends their season at 30-16.
In the bottom of the sixth inning in a scoreless game, Kaleigh Thompson led off the frame with an infield bunt single for WVSU with one out. Senior Brookelyn Hale followed with a RBI triple to score Thompson with what proved to be the winning run.

"It feels great," Hale said. "I just wanted to get as many bases as possible. I was just going to keep running and hopefully we got home. I couldn't have done it without my teammates. They kept me up and I had a great mindset going into the last at-bat.

"It was big for us and it was awesome for her being a senior," State coach Mattie Best said. "She stepped up big and it was good to see. That is a moment she is going to cherish." 

That was the only run of the game the Yellow Jacket defense would need. Moore, a sophomore, pitched a complete game, allowing just three hits, with one strikeout and two walks.

"Without the defense, the game would have been much different," Moore said. "I'm very proud of them. The middle infield and outfield was very good today. I wasn't really nervous. I trusted my defense and hitters the whole time."
Beining was just as effective for Gannon, hurling six strong innings. The junior right hander only allowed the one earned run on five hits to go along with three strikeouts and no walks.

Gannon had their best opportunity of the game in the fourth inning. Maria Taliani led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. With just one out and a runner in scoring position, Moore got Kaity Stocker to pop up and Kellyn Perich to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.

For State, Hale collected two of the five hits for State with Thompson, Emma Ruth, and Paige Scruggs earning the other hits for the Yellow Jackets.