Late Aurora Home Run Ends St. Norbert's Run in NCAA Great Lakes Regional

From Sports Information Director, May 16, 2010 | Softball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

WHITEWATER - Shannon Starr's two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be enough as Aurora University ended St. Norbert College's historic run by a 2-1 score at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Tournament at UW-Whitewater's van Steenderen Field.

The Green Knights finished the regional 3-2 to place third. St. Norbert, which had never won a NCAA Tournament game before this year, finished the year 33-8 - the most wins ever for any St. Norbert athletic program.

St. Norbert was four outs away from meeting Luther in the championship round of the regional. With two outs and nobody on, the Spartans' Maggie Cooper singled. Starr then followed with a home run to left-center field.

The Green Knights would get a two-out single in the top of the seventh, but couldn't push the tying run across.

St. Norbert got its only run of the game when Tracy Palmer rifled the game's second pitch out to left field, but the Green Knights would get just two runners into scoring position the rest of the game.

Aurora (38-8) was led by Anna Snyder, who allowed seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. St. Norbert's Kayla Krueger yielded just five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. Palmer led St. Norbert at the plate with a 2-for-3 effort.