(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
No. 1 seed Fordham jumped in front with a pair of first-inning runs and went on to post an 11-0 victory over Saint Louis Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic 10 Conference Softball Championship final at Fordham’s Bahoshy Field.
No. 2 seed Saint Louis concluded one of the most successful seasons in program history with a 30-21 record, tying the school record for wins. The Billikens’ second-place regular-season finish was their best in nine years of A-10 membership, and they were the A-10 Championship runner-up for a second time.
Fordham, which captured a second consecutive A-10 Championship title, takes a 36-18 record into the NCAA Championship.
SLU managed just two hits off tournament Most Outstanding Player Michele Daubman. Lindsay Friedman and Katie Kroeger singled, and Friedman swiped her 29th base of the season.
After grabbing the 2-0 lead, Fordham scored four runs in the second inning and five in the third.
Friedman, Elizabeth Everingham and Alex Nickel were named to the All-Tournament team. Friedman batted .333 with a double, an RBI, three runs, two walks, two stolen bases and three outfield assists. Everingham hit .417 with two home runs, five RBIs, three runs and a walk, and she handled 14 chances at third base without an error. Nickel led Saint Louis in batting average (.600), on-base percentage (.714), hits (six, including a double), runs (four) and walks (four), and she stole a base.
