Virginia Wesleyan advances to NCAA Super Regionals with 3-2 win

Top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan is headed to the NCAA Super Regionals after grinding out a 3-2 victory over Pfeiffer in the NCAA Regional Championship on Saturday afternoon at TowneBank Park.

The win keeps the Marlins undefeated at 48-0 this season and sets up a Super Regional matchup against Case Western Reserve next weekend in Virginia Beach with a trip to the NCAA Division III Women’s College World Series on the line.

Hannah Hearl delivered another dominant performance in the circle, pitching a complete game while allowing six hits and striking out six over seven innings.

Virginia Wesleyan broke through first in the bottom of the second inning. Morgan Tucker opened the frame with a single and later moved into scoring position before Alison Pollack ripped an RBI double to left field, giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead.

Pfeiffer answered in the top of the third to tie the game at 1-1, but Virginia Wesleyan responded immediately with the game’s decisive rally in the bottom half of the inning.

Taylor McQueen drew a leadoff walk before Tucker singled to put two runners aboard. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Laci Campbell delivered a clutch RBI single that scored McQueen and moved Tucker into scoring position. Moments later, Tucker raced home on a Pfeiffer error to extend the Marlins’ advantage to 3-1.

Campbell finished with two hits and an RBI to lead the offense, while Sarah Prosser also collected two hits. Pollack added the RBI double, and Samantha Deitsch contributed a hit in the victory.

Pfeiffer mounted a late threat in the seventh inning, scoring once and putting the tying run on base, but Hearl and the Virginia Wesleyan defense held firm to secure the regional championship in front of the home crowd.

With the victory, the Marlins advance to the NCAA Super Regionals, where they will host Case Western Reserve next weekend at TowneBank Park.