SALEM, Va. — Belhaven kept its season alive Friday evening with a 3-2 victory over Mount Union in an elimination game at the NCAA Division III Softball Finals at the Moyer Complex.
The Blazers improved to 43-11 and will face No. 8 seed Rowan in another win-or-go-home game Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST. The win avenged an earlier 7-6 loss to Mount Union during the NFCA Leadoff Classic in March.
Melissa Lopera and Liberty Gillihan provided the offensive punch for Belhaven, each hitting a home run. Macy Funderburk pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts in 87 pitches. The junior from West Monroe, Louisiana, recorded her fifth complete game of the season and third in the NCAA Tournament.
Mount Union threatened early, with a single and an error putting runners on base in the first inning. Funderburk induced a lineout and a flyout to escape the jam. Belhaven had scoring opportunities in the first three innings but couldn’t capitalize until the fourth.
In the fourth, Kaleigh Steverson singled, and Lopera followed with a two-run homer to give Belhaven a 2-0 lead. Funderburk kept Mount Union off the board in the bottom half, stranding two runners after the Raiders loaded the bases with one out.
Mount Union cut the deficit to 2-1 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly after a double and a single. In the sixth, a solo home run tied the game at 2-2. But Gillihan answered in the seventh, leading off with a home run to right field that proved to be the game-winner.
Funderburk closed out the game in the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout, a pop out, and a groundout, sealing the win for Belhaven. Lopera finished 1-for-3, and Gillihan went 1-for-3 with the decisive home run. The team totaled six hits.
Belhaven will play Rowan on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CST in the next elimination game. Follow @BelhavenBlazers on Twitter and Instagram or like their Facebook page for updates.
