The Gustavus softball team defeated Webster University of Missouri 14-6 in five innings on Saturday and advanced to the NCAA Indianola Regional Championship game for the first time in the program’s history. The Gusties are now one win away from advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals, which will be held May 15-19 in Montclair, New Jersey. The Gusties exploded for 14 runs on 13 hits. Rachael Click led the hit parade with three hits in four at-bats including two home runs. Callie Nelsen pitched all five innings and was credited with the win. She scattered nine hits and allowed three earned runs. The Gusties will play the winner of Webster vs. Washington University of St. Louis on Sunday at 2 pm.
The Gusties exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first inning as Coach Jeff Annis’ squad sent 10 batters to the plate. Emily Klein and Jenny Ewert opened the game with back-to-back singles followed by a Rachael Click double that drove in Klein with the first run. Gustavus increased its lead to 5-0 with a single run in the second and then added four more runs in the bottom of the third, which gave Gustavus a commanding 11-0 lead.
Webster countered with three runs in the fourth and three more runs in the fifth cutting the lead to 11-6, however Gustavus scored three times in the bottom of the fifth making the lead 14-6 and stopping the game due to the eight-run rule after five complete innings.
The top of the Gustavus batting order did most of the damage for the Gusties as leadoff hitter Emily Klein was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two rbi, while #2 hitter Jenny Ewert was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one rbi. The #3 hitter, Rachael Click was 3-for-4 on the day, with four runs scored and four RBI. Two of her three hits were home runs.