Berry's magical season will continue for at least one more game as the Vikings staved off elimination with a 6-4 win over Eastern Connecticut State Saturday night in Salem, Va., in the elimination bracket of the 2022 NCAA D-III Softball Championship.

"Both of these teams had such energy, and that was a fun environment," said Berry head coach Emily Stanley. "We always talk about respecting the game and respecting our opponents and [ECSU] made it a really awesome game. I'm excited to come out on the winning end of it, but that was just fun overall."

After falling behind 1-0 after an inning of play, the Vikings (36-12) answered back in the second. With two runners in scoring position, Sydney Moroney chopped a 2-0 pitch off the pitcher's glove and into right center, scoring Morgan Frye and Blair Hall to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead.

The Vikings' half of the second was helped by an ECSU (44-7) error that led to the runs being unearned. The third inning would see Berry take advantage of another miscue. Katie White reached on an error to lead off the frame, then after a White steal, Anna Jackson came through with a double to left to plate White with Berry's third unearned run of the game, giving the Vikings a 3-1 lead. ECSU rallied with a run in the fourth, but Hannah Gore entered the circle in relief of Hall and retired the last two batters of the inning to keep Berry's lead intact.

Speed would play a major factor in the fifth. Aleeya Thornton drew a walk to start the inning, then White's grounder to second was bobbled as the speedy Thornton went by, allowing both runners to reach safely. Riley Jackson then lifted a foul ball into foul territory in right. Thornton tagged up on the diving catch and never stopped running, going all 120-feet on the foul out to give the Vikings a 4-2 lead. "It's really just my job to try to use my speed and score," said Thornton. "Once I saw that ball in the air, I went back and tagged, and once I saw her catch it I was like `I gotta go.' I see [Coach] Stan waving me around third and I'm like, `I gotta go again.'"

With White on third, Anna Jackson connected on her 10th homer of the season, giving Berry a 6-2 cushion. "We had a lot of energy that inning," said the catcher Jackson. "That play that Aleeya made gives us a lot of momentum. I talked to my teammates about having a plan going up there, and I just did my best to execute the plan."

That would prove to be enough for Gore (17-2). The freshman would allow a two-run, two-out homer in the bottom of the seventh - only the second home run she has allowed this season - but kept ECSU off the board the rest of the way to earn the win and keep Berry alive.

The Vikings will now meet Trine at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in a contest between the No. 5 seed and the No. 6 seed. Berry must beat Trine twice Sunday in order to advance to Monday's championship series.