Griffins Champs Again

After a six-year absence, the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Championship trophy returns to the league's winningest program, Fontbonne University. The Griffins brought the conference title back to campus for the first time since 2015, giving the program its 10th tournament title. 

After rolling through the tournament with a pair of wins the Griffins entered the championship Saturday in the envious position of needing just one win to secure the title. Greenville's offense continued its torrid early start by plating two runs in the first two innings. Mia Boyd ripped an RBI double to left field, narrowly missing a home run, that put the Panthers on the board in the 1st inning. The Griffins however kept their recent trend of answering scores with a big inning of their own. The Griffins took advantage of a fielder's choice and wild pitch to take a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning. Hanna Miener then stepped up and went opposite field for a two-run home run that made the score 4-1.

Greenville put a second run on the board in the 2nd with an Emma Funk home run but again the Griffins responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame on a fielder's choice. Fontbonne pushed its lead to 5-2 when G Morris scored on a passed ball. 

The Panthers cut into the lead with runs in both the 5th and 6th innings but they missed a big chance in the 4th inning when they had bases loaded with no outs and failed to get across the plate. Michaela Mason came on to pitch the final 1 2/3 innings of the game, allowing just two hits, while picking up the save and securing a win for Hailey Kutz.

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