UVSC 2, C. Arizona 1Call it destiny.
Call it the will to win.
Call it what you want.
"I don't care what anybody calls it," said Utah Valley State College women's softball coach Todd Fairbourne."The fact is, we are the national champions. Unbelievable? Well, perhaps a little. But I've learned through the season not to sell this team short. This team has the character to win against what may seem like overwhelming odds."
That's the way it was Saturday in the NJCAA title game as UVSC knocked off No. 1 ranked and heavily favored Central Arizona, 2-1, to win the school's first ever national title.
"Here's a team that everybody picks to win the thing," said Fairbourne. "And they probably do have us overmatched in terms of speed, size and pure talent. But somehow our kids have the emotional presence and focus to do what it takes to win."
Central came into the game with an amazing 71-7 record. Not only were the Vaqueros the defending national champs, but they carried 10 national titles in their hip pockets.
This was a team accustomed to winning these types of games. And they looked all the part Saturday, as they out-hit, out-fielded, and out-pitched the Wolverines through the first five innings. Central played errorless ball, cranked out a handful of hits, and rode the no-hit pitching of Missy Passley into the sixth.
But in spite of all the Vaqueros had done, they were held at bay for the most part by UVSC pitcher Brenda Hart and the score was deadlocked at 0-0.
All that changed in the sixth.
UVSC freshman Tiffany Weight laced a one-out single to start what would be a two-run rally. After a bunt single by Sabrina Dinkel, followed by a Central throwing error, UVSC wound up with runners at second and third. Summer Griffin lofted a sacrifice fly to center field to get Weight home with the first run. Kara Tarbet followed with a two-out RBI single to score Dinkel.
With the 2-0 lead, Hart, who did not allow an earned run in 21 innings of work in the tourney, went to work. The Vaqueros managed to eke out an unearned run in the sixth, but Hart shut them down in the seventh. She got two of the outs herself on comebackers to the mound, including the final one that gave UVSC the title.
Hart, who went 3-0 in the tourney with a perfect 0.00 ERA, was named the MVP. Weight, Kristan Pratt and Hana Michiue were named to the All-Tournament team. Fairbourne was selected as the outstanding coach of the tournament. Weight wound up as UVSC's leading hitter in the tournament, with a .526 average. Pratt hit .385 with a team-high five RBI, while Michiue hit 333. For the season, Michiue finished as the club's leading hitter with a .419 mark.
UVSC finished the season with a 46-14 record. The Wolverines won their last eight in a row, including five at nationals, and three straight when they were facing elimination in last week's Region 18 Tournament. The 46 wins bested the previous high of 43, set last year. Hart's 24 wins were the most ever for a UVSC pitcher in a single season, and she also tied the career mark with 38 total wins in two years of play.