Virginia Wesleyan captures 17th ODAC title with dominant win over Bridgewater
The Virginia Wesleyan softball team captured its 17th ODAC championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating Bridgewater College 12-2 in five innings during game two of the ODAC Championship series at Broyles Field. The victory completed a perfect conference tournament run for the Marlins, who improved to 45-0 overall and finished the season unbeaten in ODAC play at 20-0. Emma Adams earned the championship-clinching win in the circle after pitching all five innings.
The senior allowed two runs on five hits while striking out three batters to improve to 21-0 on the season. Virginia Wesleyan’s offense was powered by Alison Pollack and Morgan Tucker. Pollack went 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBIs, while Tucker finished 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs.
Taylor McQueen added two hits, including a double, and scored a run. Bridgewater opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double to take an early 1-0 lead. The Marlins quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning.
Tucker singled to right-center before McQueen added a hit through the left side. Pollack then launched a three-run home run over the left-field fence to give Virginia Wesleyan a 3-1 advantage. The Marlins added four more runs in the second inning.
Riley Curtice and Sarah Prosser each reached base with walks before Laci Campbell drove in a run with a double down the left-field line. Samantha Deitsch later contributed an RBI groundout, and Tucker followed with a two-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 7-1. Bridgewater scored once in the third inning to cut the deficit to 7-2, but Virginia Wesleyan immediately responded.