Elimination bracket 

After defeating Valdosta State in the first elimination game on Friday, North Georgia came in clutch in game two against Saint Anselm on Saturday, with a walk off 1-0 win over the Hawks. After seven innings scoreless, a bunt from Cheyanna Mosteller was just the right thing her team needed to secure the win. 

With a pitcher’s duel on full display this late in the tournament, it's easy to assume that one play may be the difference between a win and a loss. For Saint Anselm, the second loss in a double elimination bracket meant the No.2 seed was heading home from Denver empty handed. 

“Just a really good game on both sides, well pitched on both sides, tip my hat to Saint Anselm,” head coach Mike Davenport said after the game. 

In order to pull out the win, it was necessary to have both physical and mental focus as the innings were winding down. As Davenport continued to see zeroes on the scoreboard he had one main message to his team. 

“Keep chipping away,” Davenport said of the pitcher’s duel. “We had to earn this win for sure.” 

Augustana stays alive 

Just 24 hours after being shut out by Biola unexpectedly, No.1 Augustana redeemed itself by climbing back into the race by beating Grand Valley on Saturday in the double elimination bracket. Even with a 0-5 loss hanging over their shoulders, the Vikings flipped the switch and pulled out a 13-2 win, reminding those left in the tournament who the defending champions are. Torri Chute went 4-for-4 at bat and had six RBI’s to lead Augustana on Saturday.

After defeating Grand Valley, the next challenge was to beat West Texas A&M in order to advance to the championship series. The celebrations from game one of two on Saturday could only last so long since the most important game yet for the defending champions didn’t start until the evening. 

After the Lady Buffs stepped on the gas first, the energy and momentum continued for them throughout the game. Gabriella Valforte homered to right field to start the second inning and was met with equal success from her teammates after. West Texas had an early 4-0 lead that eventually grew inning by inning. 

Augustana, who chipped away earlier on Saturday to come out on top, knocked in two runs to make it 5-3 by the fifth but let in four runs again in the sixth. The defending champions had limited time left to defend and had to tie it up in the bottom of the seventh. 

Mary Pardo had a leadoff triple and an almost in the park homerun, exciting the crowd and her teammates. Kendall Cornick stepped right up to send Pardo home immediately, knocking away at the Lady Buff’s collectiveness. 

Already with a triple and an infield hit to start during its half of the seventh, Augustana just had to use whatever energy they had left to claw back at the 9-4 deficit. But that energy was outworked by a strong West Texas defense. On a double play, the Lady Buffs knocked out the defending champions and secured their chance to play for a national title. 

Biola secures a spot in the championship game

The sneaky No. 5 seed Biola has been the dark horse throughout the college world series. On Saturday, the train that beat the No.1 seed the day before kept on rolling as the Eagles defeated North Georgia 5-2. Sophomore Madison Blossey kicked things off in the third inning with a triple down the right field line. Blossey’s teammates returned the favor by matching her energy and sending her home. Senior catcher Kayla Neff had the hot bat and hit a home run that sent three more of her teammates across home plate. By the bottom half of the third, it was 4-0 with momentum in the Eagles favor. 

From that point on however, neither teams were rather successful. The Eagles punched in one more to go up 5-0 on singles in the top of the seventh which put all the pressure on North Georgia. After coming up big with a walk-off win earlier that day, a game winning play or inning did not happen twice on Saturday. 

The Nighthawks had enough fight left to have two runs scored in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn’t enough to escape elimination. The Eagles celebrations began as the Nighthawks concluded their tournament run. 

“I am just extremely excited for this program, this university and for this team. I am proud of them for making it this far and I am excited to see what the future holds for us,” head coach Nikki Udria said after Saturday’s game. 

Neff echoed Udria’s memories of writing down goals for the season months ago, and having national champions on that list. To think the chance is so close now seems surreal to both, but still a fight left to win. 

"So awesome, so overwhelming, so blessed to be part of this program,” Neff said.