DENVER – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College softball team saw its season come to a close on Saturday in game nine of the eight-team NCAA Division II National Championship.
The Hawks (33-7), ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division II, fell to the second-ranked Nighthawks from the University of North Georgia by a 1-0 margin. UNG picked up the walk-off victory with a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh inning that drove in the baserunner from third.
Saint Anselm opened the NCAA Championship with a walk-off victory over West Chester on Thursday, using an RBI single by senior Abbie Murrell (Scarborough, Maine) to capture a 3-2 win. Moving into the winner's bracket, the Hawks were toppled by West Texas A&M on Friday, falling by a 9-3 margin.
To earn a spot at the National Championship, the Hawks won Northeast-10 Conference regular season and postseason titles. Awarded hosting privileges for the six-team East Region Championship earlier in the year, Saint Anselm took care of business and won the program's second regional title on Saturday, May 22.
The Hawks finished the year with a team earned-run average of 1.01, the top mark in team history. The squad's 33 victories is tied for third all-time and the team's 19 shutouts in 2021 established a new program record. Saint Anselm has made each of the last three NCAA postseasons (2018, 2019, 2021) and owns a 134-34-1 (.796) since the 2018 season began.
With the game deadlocked at zero, the Hawks went down one-two-three in the top of the seventh inning. In the home half of the seventh inning, North Georgia took advantage of a lead-off walk by Madi Perry to open the stanza, putting pressure on the Hawks early.
After a sacrifice bunt, runners were on the corners with just one out in the inning. Cheyanne Mosteller was able to get a bunt down right in front of senior pitcher Morgan Perry (Bethany, Conn.) – her quick flip to catcher Bailey Cain (Wellington, Fla.) was too late to nab Madi Perry crashing in from third base.
Saint Anselm posted only two hits on the day as sophomore Kylie Fitzpatrick (Danville, N.H.) stroked a one-out single in the top of the first inning before senior Shannon Colson (Rochester, N.H.) led off the top of the fourth with a single to left field. In total, the Hawks struck out nine times in the game and drew just one walk.
Perry pitched well for Saint Anselm, giving up only four hits and walking just two batters on the day. The two-time D2CCA East Region Pitcher of the Year wraps up an illustrious career with program records in career pitching victories (87), appearances (122), starts (114), complete games (80), shutouts (37), innings pitched (704.2) and strikeouts (776).
Colson, who logged one of her team's two hits on the day, became the first in team history to play in 200 games. She departs the Hilltop with all-time team records in games started (199), at-bats (629), walks (62), and stolen bases (89). Her 32 stolen bases during her team's national runner-up season in 2018 remains a single-season team record.
Senior Erin Thompson (Newton, N.H.) played in her 190th career game, ranking second all-time in team history. She tied for the team record with 48 runs scored in 2018, helping her team to a national runner-up finish.
