2018 TEAM Atlantic Regional
The Gannon softball team punched its first-ever ticket to the Atlantic Super Regional with a 9-7 win over No. 23 West Virginia Wesleyan.
4
Winner Wesleyan WVWCSB18 43-13
1
Gannon Univ. GANSB 31-13
Winner
Wesleyan WVWCSB18
43-13
4
Final
1
Gannon Univ. GANSB
31-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wesleyan WVWCSB18 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 9 1
Gannon Univ. GANSB 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 6 1

W: Haylee Shires (11-4) L: Beining, Madi (15-6)

7
Wesleyan WVWCSB18 43-14
9
Winner Gannon Univ. GANSB 32-13
Wesleyan WVWCSB18
43-14
7
Final
9
Gannon Univ. GANSB
32-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Wesleyan WVWCSB18 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 7 7 3
Gannon Univ. GANSB 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 9 11 2

W: DeMatteis, Kennedy (12-7) L: Haylee Shires (10-5)

Next Game:

at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

5/17/2018 | 1:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule
May. 17 (Thu) / 1:00 PM
at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

Game Recap: Softball | | Madeline Williams, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Szajn’s Walk-Off Homer Lifts Gannon Softball Over No. 23 West Virginia Wesleyan; Gannon Advances to Atlantic Super Regional

THE RUNDOWN
  • Game One Score: West Virginia Wesleyan 4, Gannon 1
  • Game Two Score: Gannon 9, West Virginia Wesleyan 7 (9 Innings)
  • Records: GU (32-13) | WVWC (43-14)
  • Location: Culpepper Field – Buckhannon, W. Va.
  • The Short Story: Trailing 23rd-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan 7-4 in the seventh inning of the Atlantic Regional 2 Championship game, Kaity Stocker (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and Maria Taliani (Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes) cracked back-to-back home runs to tie it up and send the game to extra innings. Lisa Szajn (Maple, Ontario/St. Joan of Arc Catholic) belted a two-run, walk-off homer in the ninth inning to punch the Gannon softball team's first ever ticket to the Atlantic Super Regional next week against West Chester.  
 
GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER  
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME ONE
  • Gannon struck first in the bottom of the third when Rachel Tanilli (Gibsonia, Pa./Deer Lakes) drove home Stocker on a hard hit to left center.
  • In the top of the fourth, Aylin Gutierrez put the Bobcats up 2-1 with a two-run double to center field.
  • Sara Scoone added two runs for WVWC in the fourth on a single to shortstop to give the hosts a 4-1 lead for good.
  • The loss was Gannon's first of the double-elimination tournament, so the teams would square off once more for the right to move on. 
 
GAME NOTES – GAME ONE
  • Tanilli led Gannon offensively with one RBI.
  • Kellyn Perich (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township) and Stocker recorded two hits apiece.
  • Sarah Ingerick (Middlebury Center, Pa./Wellsboro Area) and Tanilli had one hit each.
  • West Virginia Wesleyan out-hit Gannon, 9-6.
  • Both teams committed one error.
  • GU and WVWC both left eight runners on base.  
  • Madi Beining (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) (15-6) was tagged with the loss in the circle. She registered three strikeouts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED – GAME TWO
  • Stocker opened up the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double to right field, scoring Ingerick from first base. Taliani drove in Stocker the next at-bat with a single to left field to stretch Gannon's lead to 2-0. Szajn belted a two-run homer to left to put Gannon up 4-0 after the first inning.
  • In the fifth, Scoone scored Megan Magsamen on a sacrifice fly to center field to give WVWC its first run of the game. Lauryn King cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single to left field. Krista Waggoner tied it up with a two-run double to left. With the go-ahead run on third, Ingerick ended the fifth with an impressive over-the-head catch at shortstop.
  • The Bobcats took the lead in the fifth with a trio of unearned runs, sparked by Scoone's bunt.
  • Trailing 7-4 in the seventh inning, Stocker hit a two-out, two-run homer, her 12th of the season. Taliani hit a solo home run the next at-bat to tie it up and send the game to extra innings.
  • With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Szajn crushed a walk-off, two-run homer to left field to end it, her second of the game.  
 
GAME NOTES – GAME TWO
  • Szajn went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI.
  • Stocker had two hits, one homer and three RBI.
  • Taliani had two hits, one homer and two RBI.
  • Gannon out-hit Wesleyan, 11-7.
  • WVWC committed three errors, while Gannon had two.
  • Kennedy DeMatteis (Boyers, Pa./Moniteau) improved to 12-7 on the year. She had three strikeouts in the win.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon made its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second as a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
  • The Lady Knights advance to the Atlantic Super Regional for the first time in program history. 
  • Gannon is seeded third in the Atlantic Region, while West Virginia Wesleyan is second.
  • WVWC is ranked 23rd, while Gannon is listed among others receiving votes in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 Poll.
  • Gannon's newly established single-season home run record was increased to 46 homers after the Lady Knights recorded four in game two.
  • Gannon has had 23 games this season with at least one home run. Fourteen of those games have seen two homers or more.
  • Ten Lady Knights have hit a home run this season.
  • Stocker's 12 home runs this season ties Gannon's single-season record, set by Joanna Fergus in 2006.
  • Szajn hit her third homer in three games to stretch her season total to seven.
  • Taliani's homer was her seventh of the year and second in three games.
  • Stocker had her 15th multi-RBI game of the season and 13th multi-hit game of the year.
 
UP NEXT
  • Gannon moves on to face West Chester in the Atlantic Super Regional at a location and time to be announced.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Madi Beining

#7 Madi Beining

P
5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
Sarah Ingerick

#25 Sarah Ingerick

SS
5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
Kellyn Perich

#21 Kellyn Perich

P/UTL
5' 6"
Junior
R/R
Lisa Szajn

#17 Lisa Szajn

C
5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
Maria Taliani

#18 Maria Taliani

OF
5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
Rachel Tanilli

#10 Rachel Tanilli

OF
5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
Kennedy DeMatteis

#16 Kennedy DeMatteis

P
5' 7"
Freshman
L/R
Kaity Stocker

#55 Kaity Stocker

C/1B/3B
5' 7"
Freshman
R/R

Players Mentioned

Madi Beining

#7 Madi Beining

5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Sarah Ingerick

#25 Sarah Ingerick

5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
SS
Kellyn Perich

#21 Kellyn Perich

5' 6"
Junior
R/R
P/UTL
Lisa Szajn

#17 Lisa Szajn

5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
C
Maria Taliani

#18 Maria Taliani

5' 7"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Rachel Tanilli

#10 Rachel Tanilli

5' 6"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Kennedy DeMatteis

#16 Kennedy DeMatteis

5' 7"
Freshman
L/R
P
Kaity Stocker

#55 Kaity Stocker

5' 7"
Freshman
R/R
C/1B/3B