Box Score
Luther College won the
2013 NCAA Division III Softball Regional hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a 7-0 win over North Central College in the championship Sunday afternoon. The Norse will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA III Finals. The winners of seven other regional tournaments will meet in Eau Claire, Wisconsin for the finals at Carson Park May 17-21.
The Norse scored in four of the seven innings in the championship, posting their first run in the top of the second inning. Senior Morgan Franklin led off the inning with a single and looked to be stranded on first until a two-out single to center field along with the help of a Cardinal error plated the first, and most important run of the game.
Luther made the score 2-0 in the top of the third again using a leadoff double and capitalizing on a fielding error. Two more runs crossed the plate in the top of the fourth and the Norse added three tallies in the top of the six to seal the victory.
The Norse rattled off 12 hits in the game led by senior Elisa Smith's 3-for-4 performance with three runs batted in. Four more Luther batters posted multiple hits in the game.
Junior ace Becca Girvan, the tournament's most outstanding player, picked up the complete game win on the mound allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking one. The righty is 22-5 this season. North Central hurler, Vlasta Mangia, also named to the All-Tournament team, took the loss on the mound to move to 25-8.
