Contact: Taiah Gallisath, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, 630-637-5302

ANGOLA, Ind. (May. 15, 2022) - The North Central College softball program has completed an outstanding season at the NCAA Regional Tournament as they shut out the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a semi-final game, before falling to Trine University 0-6 in the championship game on Sunday.

Game one saw four scoreless innings on both sides and while UW-Eau Claire managed to find bases loaded in the top of the fifth inning with only one out, the Cardinals shut down the next two batters to leave all three runners on base.

Sarah Lynch started off the Cardinals in the bottom of the fifth with a single through the left side before Jaime Smith singled up the middle to score Lynch from second. With two outs and a runner on, Talia Torosian drove the ball deep to left center to score Smith and prompted a Blugold pitching change. Breanna Adams kept the Cardinals moving with a single down the right field line to score Torosian, putting North Central up 3-0.

North Central outhit UW-Eau Claire nine hits to six. Torosian, Lynch, and Allison Lambert totaled a pair of hits each, while Smith, Adams and Alyssa Sturino picked up the Cardinals remaining three hits. Torosian, Smith and Adams totaled the Cardinals three RBIs. 

Gianna Corban (18-5) was credited with the win, pitching five innings in which she struck out five while allowing five hits. Adams finished out two innings in the circle totaling one strikeout and allowing one hit. 

The Championship game started out just the same with four scoreless innings despite the Cardinals leading three hits to Trine's zero heading into the fifth where the Thunder would find their momentum.

Trine was able to string together a pair of doubles, two walks, and a Cardinal error to break into a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth. With North Central struggling to make an impact offensively, Trine was quickly back in the box for another scoring run that saw a double and a two-run home run by Emma Beyer to widen the score to 6-0 where it would stay until the game's completion. 

Sturino and Alexa Sherlund totaled the Cardinals' four hits with two each. Adams (9-7) pitched 5.1 innings to total two strikeouts and allowed four hits. Corban faced two batters, striking out one and prompting a fly-out for the other. 

The host school, No. 20 Trine University claimed the NCAA Regional Championship title this weekend and will advance to the Super-Regionals to face the winner of today's University of Concordia-Wisconsin vs. Case Western Reserve University championship game. 

Three Cardinals were named to the All-Region Tournament Team: Gianna Corban, Sarah Lynch, and Alyssa Sturino. Trine's Adrienne Rosey was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. 

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