LADY HAWKS WIN HAGERSTOWN INVITATIONAL

April 9, 2002 - The CSM softball team went 6 - 0 in the Hagerstown Invitational Softball Tournament to claim the championship for the second time in three years.  The Hawks   won three games by one run, including  an exciting come from behind victory over Potomac State in the championship game 5-4.

    CSM won the opening game of the tournament 9-5 over Corning, NY.  Erin Waltersdorff got the win, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits, and striking out 4.  The  Hawks broke the game open in the 4th inning, when they erupted for 8 runs.  Consecutive RBI singles by Megan Oursler and Amanda Boswell followed by a RBI double by Andrea Brady and a RBI triple by Stacy Bean were the big hits in the inning.

    The Hawks faced Potomac State next, winning a squeaker 5-4.  The score was tied going into the 5th, when Amanda Kidwell singled, Allison Middletown walked, and Megan Oursler followed with a 3 run blast, her first homerun of the season.  Erin Waltersdorff got the win, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits while striking out 3.  Trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the 5th and final inning, Potomac State rallied for 2 runs to cut the margin to 5-4, before Waltersdorff got the final batter to fly out to Amanda Kidwell in leftfield.  

    In the final game of the first day, CSM won another nail biter 1-0 over Beaver.  The Hawks scored the only run of the game in the 3rd inning.  Melissa Speake singled, was sacrificed to 2nd by Megan Oursler, moved to 3rd on Amanda Boswell's single, and scored on a squeeze play perfectly executed by Andrea Brady.  Erin Waltersdorff got the shutout win, allowing only 3 hits and striking out 4.

   The Hawks went into tournament play 3-0, and as the number one seed got a first round bye.

   In the quarterfinals CSM faced a strong Navy club.  Erin Waltersdorff rose to the occasion, shutting out Navy and allowing only 2 hits.  The Hawks scored their runs in the 4th inning.  Andrea Brady started things off with a single, Stacy Bean walked, and Jennifer Brown singled to load the bases.  Brady scored on a wild pitch, and Micki Johnson drove in the second run on an infield groundout.  Erin Waltersdorff singled to knock in the final Hawk run.

   In the semifinals the Hawks faced Monroe from New York.  CSM broke on top in the first inning when Megan Oursler was hit by a pitch and later scored on Jennifer Brown's single.  The Hawks added a run in the 2nd for a 2-0 lead, when Melissa Single led the inning off with a single, followed by infield singles by Megan Oursler and Amanda Boswell to load the bases.  Speake scored on an error, but the other two runners were left stranded.  CSM added another run in the fourth, when Allison Middletown singled, was sacrificed to second by Amanda Kidwell, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Megan Oursler's scarfice.  Erin Waltersdorff pitched her second third shutout of the tournament, striking out 5 in the 3-0 Hawk win.

   CSM advanced to the championship game, to face the Catamounts of Potomac State in what turned out to be the most exciting game of the tournament, with the lead changing hands three times.

   The Hawks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd.  Stacy Bean singled, was sacrificed to 2nd by Jennifer Brown, and scored on Allison Middletown's two out single. 

   CSM added another run in the 3rd to take a 2-0 lead.  Megan Oursler was hit by a pitch, was sacrificed to second by Amanda Boswell, and then scored when the Catamount starter made two wild pitches.

   Potomac State played long ball in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead, hitting a 2 run shot, followed by a solo shot, to give the Catamounts a 3-2 lead.

   Stacy Bean answered right back in the top of the 4th for the Hawks, hitting her first home run of the year to tie the game at 3-3.

   CSM reclaimed the lead in the 6th, 4-3, when Allison Middletown tripled and scored on Megan Oursler's single.  Potomac State tied the game in the bottom of the 6th on a triple followed by a squeeze play.

   With the game knotted at 4-4 in the top of the 7th, CSM scored what proved to be the game winning run.  With one out, Jennifer Brown reached on an error.  Micki Johnson singled, sending Brown to 3rd.  With two outs Amanda Kidwell singled to score Brown.

   Potomac State wasn't finished yet.  Two singles and a sacrifice bunt put the tying and winning runs on second and third with one out in the bottom of the 7th.  CSM intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases.  The next Catamount batter hit a ground ball to Andrea Brady, who threw a perfect strike home to get the second out of the inning.  Erin Waltersdorff then got the final Potomac State batter to fly to left, giving the Hawks the championship with the 5-4 win.

   Erin Waltersdorff pitched all 6 games of the tournament for CSM, and was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.