NCAA Bracket

Release courtesy of Gettysburg Athletic Communications

THE FACTS
No. 16 Gettysburg (41-6) 2, Ramapo (33-11) 0
What: NCAA Div. III softball championship regional championship
When: Saturday, May 17
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.

THE SKINNY STORY
The first two games of the Gettysburg Regional yielded 17 runs for the host Bullets and a trip to the regional championship as the 2-0 team. Ramapo, working back through the consolation bracket after dropping its opening game of the regional on Friday, matched zero for zero through the first five innings on the regional final. However, it was a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning the brought home the only two runs of the game and punched Gettysburg's first-ever trip to a super regional.

THE LEADERS
• Elliana Hopple (Collegeville, Pa./The Episcopal Academy) had the big hit in the bottom of the sixth inning to score the only two runs of the game.
• Paige Forry (Reading, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) tossed her second complete-game shutout of the regional – and 10th of the season – with four strikeouts to claim Most Outstanding Player honors of the regional.

FOR THE FOES
• Alex Hastings led the Roadrunners with two hits.

THE REST OF THE STORY
• After neither team was able to scratch across a run in the first five innings, Paige Forry had her third straight 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth. With one out in the bottom of the frame, Zoe Brennan (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) poked an 0-2 pitch to center for a double. After a shallow diving grab in left field for the second out, Jamie Shaw (Mount Airy, Md./Glenelg) slapped a ball to short and put runners at the corners. After Shaw stole second on the first pitch, Elliana Hopple took a 2-1 pitch back up the middle to score both runners and break up the double shutout.
• Ramapo had a one-out baserunner in the top of the seventh but Forry got her fourth strikeout and Hopple threw out the runner at second for a game-ending double play and regional title.

THE INSIDE STORY
• Audrey Bergan, Anika Pelekis and Elliana Hopple joined Paige Forry on the all-tournament team for the regional.
• Gettysburg had just five hits on the day while Ramapo had four.
• The Bullets advance to next week's best two-of-three super regionals at Virginia Wesleyan. The Marlins also went 3-0 to win their regional.

NEXT UP
The Gettysburg-Virginia Wesleyan super regional matchup will take place in Virginia Beach, Va., on Thursday and Friday. Game one will be on Thursday with game two and game three, if necessary, on Friday. Game times are yet to be determined.