2018 Women's Major Softball
National Championship
August 2-5, Stratford, CT


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SAINTS CAME MARCHING INTO DELUCA AND LEFT WITH CHAMPIONSHIP

By Bob Baird
WMS Tournament Director

It's hard to believe that this will be the 10th annual Women's Major Softball National Championship. Believe it, or not, it is and it will have to go some to outshine the unbelievable tournament we had in 2017.

Led by their 'youthful' Manager Ed Martz, the St. Louis Saints came marching into Frank DeLuca Hall of Fame Field and marched out with their first WMS championship. It was a well-earned and long awaited crown for the energetic Martz, who along with his talented Saints was making an eighth appearance in the nine-year history of the event.

Martz, who was in his 62nd year of managing women's fastpitch softball, has brought his Midwest powerhouse to the WMS seven previous times. After a third-place finish in the 2009 inaugural, the Saints were runners-up five times to the host and seven-time champion Stratford Brakettes and a third-place team in 2015. The only year they stayed home was 2013.

After winning both pool games over the Nook 23 Gold and NYC Havoc by identical 10-2 scores, the Saints breezed through the bracket portion of the tournament. They beat the Jersey Fusion 15-6 in the quarter-finals before overcoming long-time rival Lady Hearts of Bloomington, IL, by 6-4 in the semi-finals to advance to an anticipated semi-final showdown with the Brakettes.

That matchup never occurred as the upstart Nook 23 Gold stunned the defending seven-time champion Brakettes 2-1 by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to advance to a rematch with the Saints in the winner's bracket final. St. Louis had their bats do the talking in a 10-3 triumph, advancing to Sunday afternoon's finale. The Brakettes never reached the final day as the Lyons Spirit jumped out to a quick 4-0 first-inning lead en route to a stunning 5-4 victory behind Jenn Shellhammer's pitching to eliminate the host club. It marked the first time since 1993 that the Brakettes had lost two games in the same day against someone other than a national team. Stratford finished fifth at 1-2.

Bloomington ousted the Havoc 10-4 and early Sunday morning they sent home the Spirit, setting up a showdown with the Nook Gold. The loser's bracket game went 15 innings before Morgan Edwards smashed a solo, walk-off home run to center field. Leading 2-0 entering the top of the fifth, the Nook tied the score at 2-2 on a one out, two-run homer by Becca Blatt.

The well-rested Saints scored four runs in the first and two in the second against the exhausted Lady Hearts to notch a 9-1 title victory. Chelsea Ross picked up the win with a four-hitter with nine strikeouts and she was the recipient of the tourney's Most Outstanding Pitcher. Madi Norman won the Micki Stratton MVP Award and the Pat Dufficy Home Run trophy with two. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by second baseman Payton Staggs, third baseman Brittney Krodinger, shortstop Sammy Bunch, outfielder Courtney Krodinger, utility player Norman, and pitcher Bailey Lange.

Like I said, it will take some type of effort to top the Saints' performance!