Elliot Schott | Moravian Athletics
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -The Moravian University softball squad walked off with a 2-1, eight-inning win over No. 21 Westfield State (Mass.) University in the winner's bracket game of the 2026 NCAA Division III Bethlehem (Pa.) Regional at Blue & Grey Field on Friday to reach the championship round of the tournament.
How It Happened
- The Greyhounds opened the scoring with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Junior center fielder Shayla Morgan put down a short bunt to third base and beat the throw down the line for a single. Freshman left fielder Natalie Chloros followed with an RBI double off the fence in left field as Morgan raced around the bases
- The Owls tied the contest at 1-1 with a run in the top of the sixth frame
- Moravian earned its second walk-off victory of the season with a win in the bottom of the eighth inning. Senior third baseman Sydney Andrews got the frame started with a double to the gap in left center. Andrews moved over to third when junior right fielder Kyra Holtje put down a sacrifice bunt before senior catcher Marcie Silberman hit an infield single deep into the hole at shortstop. Junior Madelin Cooper ran for Silberman as the Hounds had runners on the corners. Senior pitcher Sarah DeStefano ripped the first pitch she saw over the right fielder's head to send Andrews home with the winning run
- The Hounds advance to the championship round on Saturday and will face SUNY Cortland, which defeated Bowdoin (Maine) College, 4-2, and Westfield State, 2-0, in a pair of elimination games to advance to the championship round. The Red Dragons will need to win twice on Saturday to win the regional title
Inside the Numbers
- Moravian collected ten hits in the contest, with DeStefano going 2-for-4 with her game-winning RBI
- Silberman was also 2-for-4, while Derickson went 2-for-3 with a double
- Andrew had a hit, a run, and a double, while Chloros added a double and an RBI
- Morgan and Hoffman were both 1-for-3, with Morgan scoring once
- DeStefano tossed a complete game in the circle, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts as she improved to 16-6 on the season
NCAA Regional History
- The extra-inning win was the eighth in 14 total extra-inning games in the Greyhounds' NCAA tournament history
- The Hounds improve to 59-47 all-time in NCAA Tournament action
- Moravian and Cortland have faced off once before in the NCAA Tournament, with the Red Dragons defeating the Blue & Grey, 3-1, in a winner's bracket game back in 2011 when the Hounds headed to Cortland for a regional
- The Greyhounds have reached the championship round of an NCAA regional for the tenth time in the program's 22 appearances, and it is the eighth time the Blue & Grey have made the championship round as the undefeated team. The squad has twice lost earlier in the tournament and fought back through elimination games to make the final, including 2018 at The College of New Jersey, when Moravian lost its first game and won four straight elimination games to capture the regional championship
Up Next for the Greyhounds
- Saturday, May 15 vs. SUNY Cortland in 2026 NCAA Division III Bethlehem, Pa. Regional, 11:00 a.m.