Cardinals move one game from 1st title
with nailbiting 4-3 win over Chapman

SALEM, Va. — The Saint Mary's University fastpitch softball team has prvoven to be like a fine wine — they just keep getting better with age.

The Cardinals closed within one win of the school's first-ever national title Saturday evening, slipping past Chapman 4-3 in a showdown of the final two unbeaten teams in the NCAA Division III Softball Championships.

"This is just unbelieveable," said SMU pitcher Teisha Smith, who tossed a complete-game six-hitter, winning her sixth straight game in this year's post-season. "It's so hard to put into words how it feels right now — we're one game away from a national title."

And, while being on the verge of school history may seem a little hard to fathom right now, Smith is certain she and her teammates will have their heads out of the clouds and their feet firmly planted on the ground when they take the field this afternoon against the winner of the Chapman-Alma elimination game.

"We're on a mission," said Smith, who struck out three and did not walk a batter. "We came into the tournament wanting to win it all in four straight, and right now we are three-fourths of the way there.

"Plus, whoever we play has to beat us twice. As (coach John) Tschida would say, ‘I like our chances.’ "

Tschida, however, wouldn't confirm that he likes his Cardinals' chances, but considering his team has not been beaten twice in a row by the same team in more than four years, it's a safe bet he does.

"I guess I really haven't had much time to think about this," Tschida said of the Cardinals' latest win and their shot at history. "It's quite an accomplishment to get this far, but we aren't done yet. We still have another game to play, and we have to remember that. We can't be satisfied just yet."

After batting to a 0-0 tie through the first four and a half innings, the Cardinals finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Jennifer Miller singled and was sacrificed to second by Smith. Ann Munzenmeier followed with an infield single and both scored on Jennifer Meyer's two-run triple to the gap in right-center. Jill Hocking followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Meyer as SMU jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.

"It took us a little while to figure (Chapman) out," admitted Tschida, whose team has now won 15 straight and 26 of its last 27. "It's kind of like a boxing match — the first couple of rounds, you're just feeling each other out. Then, bam, you pick your spot and let 'em have it."

"That was a big inning for us," said Meyer, who finished the game with two hits in three at-bats — giving the Cardinal junior the cycle (a single, double, triple and home run) — in three tournament games. "We knew the game was going to be a battle. We just needed to make sure an be patient. Our time would come."

And when it did, Meyer and Co. capitalized.

"This has been a total team effort," said Smith, refusing to be tagged the Cardinals' lone hero. "If someone is having an off day, someone else has been there to pick them up. It's been that way all season — it's just more visable now because we are in the national tournament."

The Cardinals' three-run lead didn't last long, however, as Chapman bounced back with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. With two out and runners on second and third, SMU right fielder Angie Wright misplayed a single by Dawn Lopez, allowing both runners to score and Lopez to advance all the way to third. Smith got Leslie Prochaska to fly out to center to end the threat, but the damage had been done.

The Panthers had grabbed the momentum.

But not for long.

Wright, showing no ill effects from the error, opened SMU's half of the sixth by getting hit by a pitch. She promptly stole second, stole third and scored when shortstop Cindy Bemis couldn't handle the throw at third.

"That was a big run, not just because it put us up by two, but also because it proved that we were still mentally focused and in charge," said Tschida. "Angie could easily have let that miscue in the outfield affect her mentally, but she just shook it off and did what we needed her to do."

Chapman again closed the gap to one, 4-3, getting a one-out RBI groundout from pinch-hitter Katie Chauvin, but Smith then closed the door — and sealed the Cardinals' spot in the title game.

"We won't approach (today's game) any different than any other game we've played this season," said Tschida. "I know we have a chance to win a national championship, but it's still just another game — it's not any bigger than any other game we've played this year, because if you think about it, had we lost any of those (previous) games, we might not be in this position."