COLUMBUS, Ga. - Berry Softball completed their quest to a four-peat this evening with the defeat of Millsaps in the SAA Championship game.
The neutral site contest got underway a quarter after five this evening with the Vikings not having a loss in the tournament taking on Millsaps, who they defeated earlier in the day 7-2.
In game one at 12:30, to stay their route in the winners bracket, Berry had three spot first inning to put them on top for the remainder of the game with
Ava Fouts getting it done in the circle.
For the championship game, it was
Hannah Gore earning the win at SAA Tournament MVP joining her fellow teammates,
Elly Bennett,
Ava Fouts, and
Erica Bennett on the All-Tournament team.
With things stagnant across the first three innings, it was finally time for Berry to open things up as the visitors on the scoreboard.
Kennedy Moody's solo homerun put the Vikings up in the fourth as her teammates went wild (being the only team to have a homerun throughout the tournament).
Berry refused to stop their with the homeruns however, All-Tournament Selection
Ava Fouts hit a two run homerun in the fifth to extend the lead as she bombed one over the centerfield fence for her first homerun of the season.
Millsaps refused to go away easily and tied it up in the bottom of the fifth off a three run triple that bounced off the fence.
Having been in this position before, Berry found a way. All tied up and bases loaded in the top of the 6
th from what seemed like an intentional walk of Fouts,
Elly Bennett found her way to the plate. Swinging at the first pitch, she sailed the ball high in the air over the yellow markers of the fence for a GRAND SLAM.
This moment took back all momentum for the Vikings and was the key to the ultimate success of today's championship game.
The Berry defense continued to hold of the Majors and Berry got hot at the plate with 5 runs off 4 hits in the top of the seventh to deter any hopes from Millsaps.
With two outs in the seventh, Berry had no worries or cares with singles from
Bradynn Belcher,
Ava Fouts and
Elly Bennett and a huge double by
Rachel Runsick Berry knew they were on their way to another championship.
Millsaps would sneak one more run by in the bottom of the inning, but the damage was already done and the Vikings were crowned the 2025 Regular Season and Tournament Champions.
Berry has now clinched their way to the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament and more information about that and who the Vikings match up with will come soon.
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