AMHERST, Mass. – Laura Bohning hit her third grand slam of the weekend in a seven-run second inning, and Saint Louis went on to pound Massachusetts 12-3 (five innings) in game two of an Atlantic 10 Conference doubleheader at Sortino Field to clinch a spot in the A-10 Championship.
The Billikens (26-21, 13-9 A-10) began the day needing to win just one game to claim one of six tournament spots. The Minutewomen (18-25, 12-10 A-10) needed a sweep to qualify for a chance to defend the 2012 A-10 Championship title they captured at the Billiken Sports Center.
UMass saw Saint Louis take a 2-0 first-inning lead in the opener before rallying for a 5-2 victory, setting the stage for the nightcap.
UMass is the host for the double-elimination tournament, the winner of which earns the league's automatic NCAA Championship bid. Action gets underway Wednesday, May 8, with the championship game scheduled for Saturday, May 11.
SLU, making its first tournament appearance since 2010, is the No. 5 seed and will take on No. 4 George Washington in the tournament opener Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CT).
In game two, UMass took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before Saint Louis exploded for 10 runs in the next two frames.
The Billikens loaded the bases in the second on a leadoff walk to Alyson Brand, a double by Elizabeth Everingham and a walk to Erin Harcar. A one-out walk to Jessica Buschjost forced in Brand, and Lindsay Friedman followed with a single that scored Everingham for a 2-1 SLU lead.
In stepped Bohning, who tied an NCAA Division I record by hitting two grand slams in the same inning in Friday's 21-2 win at Rhode Island. The senior designated player delivered again with a shot that cleared the center-field fence, and the Bills led 6-1.
It was Bohning's 18th career home run, a Saint Louis record. Her two round-trippers Friday tied her with Nicki Jost (2007-10) for the Billiken career mark. It also was Bohning's seventh homer of the year, tying Friedman – who hit her seventh Saturday at Rhode Island – Kara Sell (2006) and Caitlin Trevillyan (2010) for the Bills' single-season record.
With two away, Jessica Van Nostrand swatted her third home run of the season to extend the lead to 7-1.
In the third, Saint Louis again loaded the bases with nobody out. Everingham coaxed a leadoff walk, Harcar was hit by a pitch and Laney Kneib dropped a bunt single. Buschjost's ground ball drove in pinch runner Katie Kroeger, and Buschjost reached when the shortstop mishandled the ball.
Friedman lifted a sacrifice fly that plated Harcar, and Bohning walked to load the bases again after Kneib and Buschjost moved up on a wild pitch. The Minutewomen could not turn a double play on Kelsey Biggs' grounder to the second baseman, and Kneib scored to make it 10-1.
UMass scored twice in the fourth, but SLU got the runs right back in the fifth. Buschjost and Friedman were hit by pitches, and a two-out walk to Van Nostrand loaded the bases. Bohning scored on a wild pitch, and Biggs crossed the plate when the second baseman misplayed Brand's ground ball.
Kneib (13-7) retired the side in order in the UMass fifth to secure the win. She struck out two, allowed five hits and did not walk a batter.
Game one began promisingly for the Billikens. Buschjost led off the contest with a walk and stole second, Friedman picked up an infield hit, and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Bohning's sacrifice fly scored Buschjost and advanced Friedman to third, and Friedman beat the shortstop's throw to the plate on Biggs' ground ball.
That was it for the Saint Louis offense, however. Meanwhile, UMass tallied a run in its half of the first, took the lead with three runs in the third and tacked on an insurance run in the sixth.
