MONTCLAIR—Better late than never. The Gustavus Adolphus Gusties, who arrived at the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball National Championship over two-and-a-half hours late due to a runway delay at Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Wold-Chamberlain Airport on May 13, waited six innings for its offense to come to life before exploding for five runs in defeating the University of Texas at Tyler, 5-1 in Game One of the NCAA Championship. With the victory, the Gusties improved to 40-7 overall, while the Patriots fell to 38-9.

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Gustavus Adolphus, who entered the Championship hitting .346 as a team, went a combined 2-for-14 in the first five innings, including a mark of 0-4 with runners in scoring position. On the contrary, Texas-Tyler tallied seven hits in the first five frames, but plated only one run despite going 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

After four innings of scoreless play, the Patriots broke through with the first run of the game when senior All-American left fielder Roo Richardson (Platteville, CO) scored on a two-out RBI double by fellow sophomore All-American Whitney Wyly (Hardin, TX). Richardson would have the opportunity to break the game open one inning later, but struck out with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth inning.

Gustavus Adolphus started its sixth inning rally with a leadoff double by senior center fielder Emily Klein (Red Wing, MN). Sophomore right fielder Jenny Ewert (St. James, MN) reached on a fielder’s choice, advancing Klein to third following a Tyler error. Senior All-American shortstop Rachael Click (Rochester, MN) was hit by a pitch, loading the bases for sophomore third baseball Emily Wendorff (Prior Lake, MN). Wendorff delivered a single, plating Klein with the Gusties’ first run and also producing the eventual game-winning run when Eweret scored on another Patriot error.

With nobody out in the sixth inning and three runs across for Gustavus Adolphus, Texas-Tyler head coach Mike Reed removed sophomore starter Stacey Shepherd (Houston, TX) and inserted sophomore righthander Kelsey Ainsworth (Corsicana, TX).

Gustavus would plate its third run of the sixth inning on a RBI sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Andrea Brown (Willmar, MN). Two batters later, sophomore left fielder Kirsten Prunty (New Ulm, MN) delivered a two-run home run to provide the final 5-1 margin of victory.

Gusties’ junior righthander Betsie Collins (Waseca, MN) improved to 13-3 on the year after scattering nine hits over six innings, allowing just one run and one walk while striking out three. Shepherd suffered her first loss of the season for the Patriots, falling to 11-1 on the year after yielding four hits and three runs in five innings of work.

Gustavus Adolphus’ Wendorf was the only Gustie to record multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with a RBI and a sacrifice. For Texas-Tyler, freshman catcher Ashley Klores (Franklin, TX) was 2-for-3, while freshman second baseman Allison Hurt (Houston, TX) was 2-for-2 with a sacrifice.

With the victory, the Gusties advance to face the winner of the Ohio Northern-Messiah contest in Game 7 of the Tournament on May 16 at 4:00 PM. Texas-Tyler will face the loser of the Ohio-Northern-Messiah game in an elimination contest on May 16 at 11:00 AM.
 
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NOTES—Carmen Berra, accompanied by her legendary husband Yogi Berra, kicked off the NCAA Championship by delivering the ceremonial first pitch. Gustavus Adolphus is the only NCAA softball program (Divisions I, II, or III) with three pitchers who have recorded 10 or more victories. Gusties’ fourth-year head coach Jeff Annis, led his squad to its first National Championship appearance after winning the Indianola, Iowa Regional as a seventh-seed, is a world-class curler who narrowly missed a berth in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. The University of Texas at Tyler, which has only sponsored intercollegiate athletics for five years, advanced to its first National Championship after winning the Marshall, Texas Regional as the fifth seed. Patriots’ head coach Mike Reed is the only coach in the history of the program, helping his squad reach the National Championship in just its second year of eligibility following completion of the institution’s NCAA provisional membership process. Game On of the Tournament, played before a crowd of 450, took a brisk one hour and 44 minutes to complete.