Keiser University Athletics

Game Matchup: No. 9 Keiser University Seahawks vs. (rv) Benedictine College Ravens
Records: No. 9 Keiser Seahawks (45-8) vs. (rv) Benedictine Ravens (34-19)

Game Score: No. 9 Keiser 4, (rv) Benedictine 3
Pitchers of Record: W: M. Miller (9-2), L: B. Selvage (17-9)
Time of Game: 6:00 PM

UC Softball Complex | Williamsburg, Ky.

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WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. The Keiser University softball team opened NAIA Opening Round play with a 4-3 victory over Benedictine (KS) on Sunday evening at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, improving to 45-8 on the season and advancing in the national tournament. Sarah Phipps delivered the decisive blow of the night, launching a three-run home run to center field in the first inning to give Keiser an early 3-0 lead that set the tone for the game. Faith Campos was a constant presence all night, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base, while Maggie Miller was dominant in relief, allowing no runs on two hits over four innings to earn the win and send the Seahawks to the next round.

Keiser struck fast and decisively in the first inning. Kaci Kidd led off with a flyout to center, but Campos followed with a single up the middle and immediately stole second. After Genesis Iglesias popped up for the second out, Schaaf singled to the pitcher to advance Campos to third, setting the stage for Phipps, who turned on a 2-1 pitch and drove it over the center field fence for a three-run home run to give Keiser an immediate 3-0 lead. Benedictine answered in the third when Alena Velilla doubled to right center, stole third, and scored on a two-run home run to left center by Rhiannon Martin to pull within 3-2. The Ravens added one more in the fourth when Lauren Gaitley doubled to right center to score Megan Forsman, who had led off with a single, knotting the game at 3-3. The game remained tied heading into the bottom of the eighth when Campos singled to right field, advanced to third on a throwing error by Benedictine's third baseman on a Genesis Iglesias grounder, and scored on a walk-off RBI single to center by Macy Schaaf to end the game 4-3 and send the Seahawks to the next round of the NAIA Opening Rounds.

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• Keiser opens NAIA Opening Round play with a 4-3 walk-off victory over Benedictine (KS) to improve to 45-8 on the season. The Seahawks advance in the national tournament and will face No. 17 University of the Cumberlands tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
• Sarah Phipps delivered the biggest hit of the night, a three-run home run to center field in the first inning that scored Faith Campos and Macy Schaaf and gave Keiser an immediate 3-0 lead. She finished 1-for-2 with a walk and three RBI. She is now batting .357 on the season with five home runs and 42 RBI.
• Faith Campos had the best individual game of any Keiser player, going 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored. She singled up the middle and stole second to start the first-inning rally, then delivered again in the eighth with the single that ignited the walk-off. She now sits at 48 stolen bases on the season.
• Maggie Miller entered in the fifth inning and was outstanding in relief, tossing four scoreless innings and allowing just two hits with four strikeouts on 44 pitches and 37 strikes. She earns the win to improve to 9-2 on the season with a 2.36 ERA.
• Mackenzie Masternak started and worked four innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with no strikeouts on 65 pitches before giving way to Miller in the fifth. She falls to 25-4 on the season with a 1.94 ERA across 180.0 innings pitched.
• Macy Schaaf went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI, delivering the walk-off single to center in the eighth inning to score Faith Campos and give Keiser the 4-3 victory. She is now batting .422 on the season with 39 RBI.
• Trinity Rohrer went 1-for-3 with a triple to left center in the fourth inning, one of Keiser's most productive individual at-bats outside of Phipps' home run, continuing to provide steady production from the eight spot in the order. She is now batting .280 on the season with 24 RBI.
• Keiser left four runners on base across the game, including a key bases-loaded situation in the third inning when Phipps fouled out and Brantley struck out to strand three after Campos singled and Schaaf drew a walk with runners already on base. The inability to add on proved costly as the lead shrunk to one by the fourth inning.
• Tessa DiPietra came on as a pinch runner for Genesis Iglesias in the eighth inning and immediately stole second base, setting up the walk-off by giving Keiser runners on second and third with no outs before Schaaf's game-ending single to center.
• Genesis Iglesias reached base in the eighth inning on a Benedictine throwing error that sent Campos racing to third, making her a key part of the walk-off rally without recording an official hit. She finished 0-for-4 on the night but contributed to the decisive sequence in the final inning.
• Keiser committed two errors on the night, including a Genesis Iglesias throwing error in the sixth inning that put a runner on base with one out, though Miller stranded the threat by retiring the next two batters on a flyout and a strikeout. The Seahawks were otherwise defensively solid in a tight game.
• Miller retired Benedictine in order in the fifth and seventh innings and held the Ravens to a .133 average across her four innings of work, providing the Seahawks' pitching staff exactly what was needed after a difficult early stretch for Masternak and setting the stage for Keiser's walk-off victory.

 

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The Seahawks return to action tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. against No. 17 University of the Cumberlands in the next round of the NAIA Opening Rounds.

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