Ashley Gates (18) is greeted after hitting a three-run homer against Lewis.
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EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Sarah Hurley and Michelle Vucsko drove in three runs apiece as the Lewis University softball team captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship with a 7-5 victory against Northern Kentucky University on Sunday.
Diana Pickrum pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the save for Lewis, which improved to 37-15 and won the GLVC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament. The Flyers also stopped NKU (34-18) from repeating as GLVC Tournament champions and defeated the Norse for the second time in 24 hours.
Jayme Hefler scored three runs for Lewis, which had not won the GLVC Tournament since 2004.
Ashley Gates hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give NKU a 3-1 lead. It was the ninth home run of the season for Gates, who is now tied with teammate
Rose Broderick for first place in Norse history with 21 career homers.
Hurley countered in the third inning by smashing a three-run homer as Lewis took a 4-3 advantage.
Emily Schwaeble responded in the bottom of the third by launching a two-run homer to left-center field to give NKU a 5-4 lead.
Lewis, however, scored twice in the fourth inning to gain a 6-5 edge. The Flyers added an insurance run in the sixth and held on to win the GLVC title. Hurley robbed Gates of a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth with a leaping grab at the fence, keeping the Lewis lead at 7-5.
NKU is expected to receive an at-large berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament when the pairings are announced Monday morning. The Norse are ranked No. 8 in the latest Midwest Region poll, and the top eight teams advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Wayne State (Mich.) and Ashland are expected to be the top two seeds in the Midwest Region and the hosts for two sub-regional tournaments next weekend. If the seeds remain the same, four teams will go to Wayne State, while four teams will go to Ashland.
The winners of the two sub-regionals will advance to the regional finals the following weekend.
