Game One Recap
HOME RUNS SEND ST. THOMAS TO WIN OVER RIPON
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – In the first game of the 2008 NCAA Division III Softball Regional Championship in Eau Claire, the University of St. Thomas defeated Ripon College 8-0 in six innings at Gelein Field in Carson Park today.
St. Thomas, ranked third in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll, improves to 41-3 on the season, while Ripon falls to 20-13. St. Thomas’ Maria Bye pitched a no-hitter and picked up the win to stay undefeated on the season with a 20-0 record.
While the game started out slow for both teams with no scoring in the first three innings, St. Thomas opened scoring on a Morgan Betker double to left field in the bottom of the fourth. Olivia Graham also hit a double in the inning to drive in a run to put the Tommies up 2-0.
In the fifth, St. Thomas produced back-to-back homers to increase its lead even more. Bye first hit a three-run home run to left field, her 12th of the season, and Betker followed that with another one to almost the exact same spot. An inning later, St. Thomas’ Colleen Owen finished off the Red Hawks with a two-run home run to center field.
St. Thomas will play again tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Tommies will take on the winner of the Simpson College-Illinois Wesleyan game that is being played at 2 p.m. Thursday. Ripon will take on the loser of the game at noon on Friday.
