TYLER, Texas -- Jo Jablonski blasted two home runs as right-hander Bekka Houda threw a gem to lead Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 5-0 win against East Texas Baptist in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship. The Warhawks advance to face Tufts on Sunday.
Houda shut out the Tigers for the first time since March 7. She scattered five hits in the complete-game win to improve to 17-6 on the mound this season.
The Warhawk offense gave Houda all the support she would need in the bottom of the second inning. Paige Evangelista tagged a triple to left field and in the next at-bat, Jablonski notched her first homer of the game, sending the ball over the wall in left-center to give UW-W a 2-0 lead.Whitewater kept the bats going in the bottom of the third with a Mimi Ramirez one-out single up the middle. Staying true to what the Warhawks have done all season, Morgan Krisch singled to third base with two outs to keep the inning alive. Amy Ricci walked to load the bases and Evangelista worked the count and recorded arguably the best at-bat of the game. After 13 pitches, Evangelista watched as the pitch came in, a curve ball that floated outside the perimeter of the plate, as ball four was called and Ramirez trotted in from home to make the score 3-0.
Back to the long ball in the bottom of the fourth. Jablonski led off with her second round-tripper of the game and ninth of the season with a shot down the left-field line. Samie Seamon followed suit after one out, tagging her 11th home run of the season on a blast down the left-field line to give the Warhawks the 5-0 lead.
Houda allowed just one base runner in the next two innings to keep the lead at 5-0. ETBU put two runners on in the top of the seventh but the UW-W defense held and secured the win.
Jablonski led UW-W at the plate going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. Seamon also went 2-for-3 in the batter's box with a run scored and an RBI.
