No. 2 Cecil Upends No. 1 Potomac State, Heads to Final

KEYSER, W.V. - No. 2 seed Cecil softball secured its spot in the Region 20 Division 2 Tournament Championship final, defeating top seed Potomac State 7-2 on Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks (22-10) will face the Catamounts again on Sunday for the title after the tournament host defeated Southern Maryland on Saturday evening in an elimination game. Potomac State will need to defeat Cecil twice to win the region, while the Seahawks need to win just once. 

Taylor Stapleford (16-2) shut out Potomac State for the first five innings of the game. She allowed one hit and walked two during this stretch.

Cecil took advantage of the early window, scoring three runs in the first and two in the second. Kylee Bergman led the effort, driving home a pair in both frames. Gabriella Smith's RBI groundout brough home Bergman in the first as well.

After three-straight empty frames, the Seahawks plated two more runs in the top of the sixth after Keira Wolfe's RBI groundout and a solo homer from Smith. Potomac State finally broke through with two outs in the bottom of the inning, but Stapleford's seventh strikeout of day snuffed out the rally. 

After a scoreless top half of the seventh for Cecil, Taja Souza headed into the circle looking to secure the final three outs. Potomac State sandwiched two singles around a fielder's choice to begin the frame, then scored their second run of the day on an RBI groundout. Souza forced the next batter to ground out to Malea Ferdinando to end the game.

Souza, Wolfe, and Bergman topped the team with two hits each. Bergman recorded four RBI, Smith chipped in two, and Wolfe finished with one. 

Stapleford tossed a half-dozen innings, allowing one run on four hits. She walked three and struck out seven on 98 pitches (63 strikes).