WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise softball team claimed the school's first-ever NCAA postseason win with a 2-1 victory over No. 8 seed Chowan University Saturday afternoon at Cavalier Field, but fell 6-4 to No. 5 seed Shepherd University in the 2017 NCAA Division II Softball Championship Atlantic 1 Regional consolation bracket final. The fourth-seeded Cavaliers (36-19), who are hosting a NCAA Regional in just their second year of being eligible for NCAA postseason play, became the first UVa-Wise athletics program to earn an at-large bid into a NCAA postseason event earlier this week.
 
UVa-Wise was able to stave off one elimination game in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional consolation bracket. After 11 strikeouts from junior right-hander Taylor Brandts (King George, Va.) and a pair of timely hits, the Cavs were able to escape with a tight, one-run win.
 
The Hawks (36-20) outhit UVa-Wise 6-3 but were only able to score once on a solo home run and left eight base runners stranded.
 
The Cavs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after senior second baseman Alexa Hernandez (Woodbridge, Va.) was hit by pitch and junior third baseman Samantha Ely (Jonesville, Va.) reached on a Chowan fielding error, leading to a RBI single up the middle by junior catcher Bridget Henzel (Toano, Va.). Hernandez scored the unearned run on the play. The Hawks left two stranded in the second and the third innings before third baseman Brittany Parson took the first pitch of the fourth frame over the right field fence for a solo home run.
 
UVa-Wise responded in the bottom of the fourth as a Henzel double, a sacrifice bunt by sophomore left fielder Shannon Bennett (Covington, Va.) and a Ava Hockey (Virginia Beach, Va.) walk got runners in the corners with two outs. Freshman shortstop Nikki Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) hit a bloop single in the infield for a RBI, scoring Henzel and giving the Cavs a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. Another walk loaded the bases for UVa-Wise but a foul out would end the inning. Taylor Brandts struck out four in the final three innings and allowed just two to reach first base.
 
Henzel finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with a RBI and a run scored, while Smith was 1-for-2. Chowan catcher Haley Cooper posted a 3-for-4 performance and Parson went 2-for-3 with her homer.
 
Taylor Brandts became the winningest pitcher in UVa-Wise softball history with her 61st career victory, surpassing Lauren Snead (2007-10). The righty tossed a complete game for her 23rd win of the year, setting a program record for the most wins in a single season and besting her 22 wins as a freshman in 2014.
 
The Hawks' Kayla Robins (24-10), who leads the nation in strikeouts (367) and shutouts (16), took the loss for Chowan after striking out nine in six innings.
 
In the NCAA Atlantic Regional consolation bracket final, the Cavs lined seven hits but could not match the Rams' (40-21) two dingers and six runs. Despite coming back from a 4-0 deficit and knotting up the score at four apiece, UVa-Wise could not stop Shepherd from scoring in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings and left a total of eight base runners stranded.
 
The Rams' third baseman, Alexandra Witt, gave Shepherd a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when she went yard down on a two-run homer down the left field line. That lead would blossom to four in the bottom third when the Rams got a pair of unearned runs after a Cavalier fielding error. Second baseman Debbie Stuart doubled to right center field for RBI before first baseman Connor Gilligan singled to left center for Stuart to score.
 
A big fourth inning by UVa-Wise saw four of the Cavs' seven hits and tied up the score at 4-4. A three-run bomb over center field by Hernandez, her team-best seventh homer of the season, got UVa-Wise within one at 4-3. Later in the inning following a single from both Henzel and senior first baseman Olivia Cleary (Riner, Va.), Ely reached on a Rams fielding error, allowing Henzel to score an unearned run.
 
However, Shepherd quickly took back the lead at 5-4 when right fielder Paige Buckworth homered down the left field line. That lead would be extended to 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth after a single and a double was followed up by a Gilligan sacrifice fly to right field.
 
The Cavs could not get a runner on in the final three innings as the Rams' Lori Sturgill retired 10 consecutive UVa-Wise batters to end the game.
 
Hernandez led the Cavs at the plate with a 2-for-4, three RBI and one run scored performance. Shepherd's Witt went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Stuart also finished 2-for-3 with a RBI and a run.
 
Senior right-handed pitcher Emily Kale (Shelby, N.C.) (7-6) took the loss for UVa-Wise after tossing three and 1/3 innings in relief and striking out two. Freshman Raychel Lapallo (North Chesterfield, Va.) went two and 2/3 innings inside the circle with one strikeout.
 
Sturgill (11-4) picked up the win for the Rams after striking out three and walking none in three and 2/3 innings of relief work.
 
The loss ends a very successful 2017 campaign for the Cavalier softball team. UVa-Wise reached the 30-win mark for the third time in the past six years and ended the regular season on a 10-game win streak. The Cavs owned a 12-game win streak through the first two games of the Mountain East Conference Tournament and posted a 21-8 record in the months of April and May. UV-Wise went 19-6 at Cavalier Field and reached the MEC Tournament title game after upending seventh-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan in game one of the championship round. After claiming three wins over nationally-ranked teams, the Cavs were receiving votes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and finished ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Atlantic Region.
 
Shepherd will now face top-seeded West Chester University Sunday at 11 a.m. in Wise for the NCAA Atlantic Regional championship. The Golden Rams (46-10) defeated the Shepherd 5-3 in the winner's bracket second round earlier Saturday, meaning the Rams will have to defeat West Chester twice Sunday in order to claim the regional title.
 
Complete Atlantic 1 Regional championship information with results, statistics, recaps, schedule updates, team links and photos can be found here. Tickets can be purchased at the gate and are $10 for adults and $5 for youth and students.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier softball news, statistics, complete schedule and more.