The axiom of "defense wins championships" gets a lot of run but mostly from old-school sports fans who remember the days of dominant NFL defenses, or even NBA teams like the San Antonio Spurs.
Well, the Armstrong State softball team would like to re-introduce you to the concept.
Late this afternoon, the No. 16-ranked Pirates won their third straight elimination contest at the DII Championships with a 3-2 win over Humboldt State, meaning that Armstrong State is just one win away from a best-of-three National Championship series. And defense was the key.
With the game tied 2-2, Armstrong State pushed across the go-ahead run thanks to an errant throw by the Lumberjacks' left fielder after a Jane Trzaska single in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Nursing a one-run lead in the final two innings, the Pirates turned not one, but two straight inning-ending double plays - the seventh inning gem a 6U unassisted play by true freshman Macy Coleman - to preserve the 3-2 win and send Armstrong State into Friday.
The Pirates led the Peach Belt Conference in double plays in 2016 and so far this postseason, Armstrong State has turned five, including four in Denver alone. And with the Pirates needing to win three more games to bring home the program's first national championship, Armstrong State might need to turn a few more to keep its hopes of that title alive.
So the lineup is set for Armstrong State athletics on Friday - women's tennis faces HPU at 9:00 am MT / 11:00 am ET, then men's tennis takes on Saint Leo at Noon MT / 2:00 p.m. ET. The rubber game between Pirate softball and Humboldt State takes place at 2:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. ET. You can watch all of the Pirates' action on NCAA.com tomorrow and see if Armstrong State can pull off the extraordinary and have three teams in contention for a national championship just 36 hours from now!
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