Ithaca Wins NCAA Division III Softball Title
May 22, 2003
From Ithaca Sports Information Release
EAU CLAIRE, WIS. - Kerri Barber made the only error of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship title game but the miscue by the Ithaca College (NY) third baseman may have allowed her team to win its first ever NCAA softball championship.
With Empire 8 champion Ithaca holding a 1-0 lead, Lake Forest's Tina Koludrovic hit a one-out double in the top of the sixth. Robyn Slater then hit a hard bounder to third which Barber fielded cleanly. She froze Koludrovic just off second base but fumbled the ball as she looked to throw to first. She retrieved the ball and flipped to third to get Koludrovic trapped in a rundown. Second baseman Sara Coddington tagged her out and Slater was forced to hold at first. The next batter, Jenn Reifenberg, lined a hit to left which easily would have scored Koludrovic.
Ithaca scored its only run in the second, putting together three of its five hits. Kerri Barber led off with a single but was forced at second on a ground ball by Kimberly Stephens. Alison Cole grounded out to the pticher but Stephens advanced to second, then scored when Mairin Dudek lined to right field. Sara Durant followed with another single but Lake Forest pitcher Leigh Anne Furgerson got a final groundout to end the inning.
Abby Hanrahan, who had thrown all but three innings in Ithaca's four previous tournament games, blanked Lake Forest on three hits through the first five and a third innings. After Koludrovic's double, Abbey Pelot came in to face the final seven batters and pick up her first save of the season.
Lake Forest, which lost its tournament opener by a 1-0 score to Emory, came back through the loser's bracket with five straight wins before dropping the national championship game to Ithaca. The Foresters, who beat Ithaca 10-5 in their season opener and 4-2 in Sunday's first championship game, finished the season with a 34-12 record. Ithaca, which won four of its five national tournament games, finished with a 37-13 record. The Bombers had not won a game in their previous five national tournament appearances. This was the Bombers' 16th NCAA appearance and represents the school's 13th national championship. Catcher Kristin Furdon, Barber and Hanrahan represented Ithaca on the All-Tournament.