Pella, Iowa – Despite some extra-inning magic, the Gustavus Adolphus softball suffered a 3-2 loss at the hands of Aurora University on Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Regional being held over the weekend at the Kuyper Athletic Complex on the campus of Central College. After Aurora took a 2-0 lead in the top of the ninth, Gustavus answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame to push the game even deeper into extras. The Spartans went ahead for good in the top of the 12th, improving to 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament and earning a trip to the region final on Sunday.
At 1-1 in the Pella region, Gustavus will now face the winner of today’s second game between Central and Fontbonne University. Aurora will take on the winner of that game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Following eight complete scoreless innings, Aurora broke the ice with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth to go up 2-0. Mandey Shrader led off the inning with a solo home run, and Steph Starr doubled to score Logan Cahill.
Facing defeat heading into the bottom of the ninth, Gustavus clawed its way back into the game. After two quick outs, the Gusties got the rally started with a Rachel Malo (So., Owatonna, Minn.) single. Shelby Nosan (Sr., Baudette, Minn.) then reached on an error, and Paige Breneman (Sr., Sherburn, Minn.) ripped a one-run single to score Malo. With runners on first and second trailing 2-1, Carly Klass (Sr., Richfield, Minn.) came through with a one-run single to right field, bringing in Nosan and tying the game at 2-2.
Extra innings continued until the 12th when Aurora took back the lead with a run on two hits. Cahill was credited with the game-winning double that plated Lauren Huebner.
Gustavus couldn’t re-create the magic in the bottom of the frame and went down one-two-three.
Vanessa Hartzell went the distance to pick up the complete-game victory. Both of Gustauvs’s runs were unearned in a performance that saw Hartzell allow 12 hits.
Hannah Heacox (So., Stillwater, Minn.) went eight innings strong to start. She allowed one run on three hits with one strikeout before being relieved by Sarah Rozell (Sr., Lakeville, Minn.) in the ninth. Rozell suffered what was her first loss in nine outings after giving up two runs on seven hits in four innings.
Leading the Gusties at the dish was Paige Breneman, Shelby Nosan, and Carly Klass. Breneman went 2-for-4 with a RBI, Nosan went 2-for-6 with a run, and Klass went 2-for-6 with a RBI.