Royals, Lancers advance to D-I softball title game

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Lakenheath and Ramstein will go head-to-head in the Division I European Championship softball finals Friday, after the former upended Stuttgart in a hard-fought 4-3 win Thursday and the latter coasted by Vilseck 8-0.

When Lancers freshman pitcher Addison Brown took the circle against the Stuttgart Panthers, she was ready to set the tone.

“They are such an amazing team,” Brown said after Thursday’s game. “I’m just thinking to myself, ‘you’re a monster, you got this, win the battle.’”

Brown and her battery mate behind the plate, junior catcher Audri Applewhite, settled into a rhythm early, racking up strikeouts and also delivering at the plate.

Both teams entered the semifinal unbeaten in pool play, and the matchup quickly turned into a pitcher’s duel. Through the first three innings, neither side could crack the scoreboard.

Senior Serenity Sampson proved just as tough for the Lancers as Brown did for Stuttgart, with both pitchers also recording their team’s first hits of the game.

For several innings, the game became a showcase of defense. Strikeouts, groundouts and quick plays kept runners off the bases.

Panthers freshman Corina Chase changed that by sneaking a pop-up fly just past the first-base line for a double. Aggressive baserunning and a passed ball later allowed Chase to score, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Trailing in the bottom of the fourth, Brown drilled a double into right-center to put herself in scoring position before senior Audrey Young brought her home to tie the game. Young later came around to score herself, putting Lakenheath ahead 2-1.

But the Lancers were not done yet.

After watching her pitcher deliver in the previous inning, Applewhite stepped into the batter’s box in the fifth looking to top Brown’s double.

“My two at-bats before … I did strike out, but I believed that if I scooted up into the plate, I’d be on time,” Applewhite said of her fifth inning at-bat.

On time was exactly what the junior catcher was.

She drove a deep shot to the outfield and over the fence for a solo home run, extending the Lancers’ lead to 3-1 and injecting energy into the dugout.

With time beginning to run short, Stuttgart knew it needed to answer.

Sampson drew a walk and stole second before freshman Ariya Brown drove her in with an RBI double to cut the deficit to one. Helena Sacoto followed with another RBI to knot the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth inning.

The tie, however, would not last long.

Young opened the bottom of the inning with a towering triple, putting the winning run just 60 feet away with no outs.

Moments later, a passed ball behind the plate allowed Young to break for home, scoring to send the Lancers to the championship.

“We have played Ramstein before,” Brown said. “I think if we play a clean game, have no errors, it should be a really good and tight game.”

Mariah Redmond’s two-run home run in the second inning broke a scoreless tie and started a brief scoring spree for the three-time defending champs.

Delila Dees, Emalie Edwards and Noelle Murphy all came around to score during the inning, helping Ramstein erupt for five runs and take a commanding 5-0 lead heading into the third.

Both the Falcons and Royals delivered strong performances on the pitching mound. Falcons sophomore Chloe Fowler recorded six strikeouts while also making several defensive plays to keep the Royals guessing.

Moya matched the effort for Ramstein, recording 12 strikeouts while surrendering just one walk and two hits — singles from Fowler and sophomore Keilani Notkin.

“I was super comfortable on the mound; I love to pitch” Moya said. “I know I can hit good and everything fell in the right place.”

Ramstein added one more run in both the third and fourth innings before Moya put the finishing touches on the performance with an over-the-fence solo home run in the bottom of the fifth.

Even with an impressive diving catch from Aniaya Slocum, the Falcons’ shortstop, in the top of the sixth, Vilseck was unable to slow the Royals’ offense.

“We did it last year, I knew we could do it again,” Royals senior Ilanah Johnson said. “Our team is awesome and we always strive to be who we are.”

Despite the loss, the Falcons still have a chance to take third in their matchup against Stuttgart on Friday.

“Coming into this game, we had the (expectation) to know it’s going to be a hard battle,” Falcons’ junior Aniaya Slocum said.

“Altogether, win or lose, we’re a team. Last year we didn’t have this opportunity … so win or lose, we had the mentality that we’re going to be able to try for a plaque tomorrow.”

Two inside-the-park grand slams were all the Vicenza Cougars needed to show the Aviano Saints who would be walking away with the win and pool’s top seed in a Thursday morning matchup between two teams who hadn’t lost in the tournament.

While the Cougars took a 19-4 mercy-rule victory over the Saints, the final score did not tell the full story of the opening innings.

Aviano came out ready to compete, keeping pace with the Cougars through the first two innings and forcing a tight matchup early on. Despite a couple errors in the field, the Saints showcased aggressive baserunning and timely offense, managing to bring in four runs of their own.

The early push kept the game close and briefly had the Cougars searching for answers.

However, once the Cougars found their rhythm, the scoring never stopped.

Vicenza strung together several rallies and quickly began to pull away, with two inside-the-park grand slams, one from senior Katherine Green, to help fuel the offensive explosion.

Vicenza and Sigonella both went through pool play unbeaten and took the top seeds from the two groups. Sigonella will take on Aviano Friday morning for the right to play in the final later in the day, while Vicenza and Alconbury clash in the other semifinal.