Herkimer College out of national softball championship contention
SYRACUSE – The chase for a championship is over for Herkimer College after the Generals were beaten Thursday in their second elimination game of the day at the NJCAA’s Division III national softball tournament.
The Generals, shut out in their opening game Wednesday at Carrier Park, defeated Monroe College-Bronx Thursday morning and returned to the field for an afternoon game against the North Dakota State College of Science, and were held scoreless again in an 8-0 loss.
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North Dakota State entered the tournament seeded third, one spot ahead of Herkimer in the eight-team field. The loss relegated the Generals to the tournament’s fifth-place game Friday afternoon.
Katelyn Strauss limited Herkimer (33-9-1) to three hits in earning her 21st pitching victory of the season for the Wildcats (39-11). Strauss struck out four of the first six Herkimer batters, and only one General reached base while the Wildcats took a 3-0 lead in the first two innings.
North Dakota State added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, then ended the game under the NJCAA mercy rule on a three-run home run by Maxine Ebel in the sixth.
Leadoff hitter Grace Foster went three-for-three with a walk and scored two runs for the Wildcats. Josie Buhr also scored twice, and Ellie Miller and Kylee Jansen each had two hits of the team’s nine hits.
Freshmen Hailey Hunter, Angeline Montanez and Madison Puppolo had the hits for Herkimer.
Strauss finished with seven strikeouts and walked two batters. Elora Wilmot, unbeaten in her previous 12 decisions as another Herkimer freshman, took the loss.
Later Thursday, Rock Valley College continued its quest for an eight consecutive championship and clinched its spot in Saturday’s final round with a 3-2 win over Corning Community College in a rematch of last year’s championship game.
Friday’s schedule starts with the seventh-place game between Monroe and Middlesex Community College followed by Herkimer in the fifth-place game against St. Cloud Technical and Community College. After that, Brookdale Community College, North Dakota State and Corning will sort out Rock Valley’s Saturday opponent.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer College out of NJCAA softball championship contention
