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MAC Commonwealth Conference Softball Championship Round
No. 4 Lebanon Valley 2, No. 2 Widener 1
No. 4 Lebanon Valley 11, No. 2 Widener 3 – 5 Innings

LVC Lineup Game 1
1. Deardorff lf, 2. Brown dp, 3. Bost cf, 4. Johnson c, 5. Miller ss, 6. Dutton 1b, 7. Gross rf, 8. Robinson 3b, 9. Aumiller 2b, Neff p

Widener Lineup Game 1
1. Horvath dp, 2. Hood 3b, 3. Alkins ss, 4. Harris 1b, 5. Sterling cf, 6. Church c, 7. Forward rf, 8. Antonucci lf, 9. DelRomano 2b, Schengrund p

LVC Lineup Game 2
1. Deardorff lf, 2. Brown dp, 3. Bost cf, 4. Johnson c, 5. Miller ss, 6. Dutton 1b, 7. Gross rf, 8. Robinson 3b, 9. Aumiller 2b, Neff p

Widener Lineup Game 2
1. Horvath dp, 2. Hood 3b, 3. Alkins ss, 4. Harris 1b, 5. Sterling cf, 6. Church c, 7. Forward rf, 8. Antonucci lf, 9. DelRomano 2b, Schengrund p

How It Happened
Never underestimate the underdog. Over the course of six games in three days this weekend, a group of underdogs never faltered, never rolled over, and was never going to be satisfied with second place. They had to do it the hard way but they did it. And it was all the sweeter because of it.

A team that was 6-20 and appeared to be dead in the water two weeks ago completed its run of resiliency in extraordinary fashion. Winning 11 of its last 13 games and clinching a playoff spot on the last day of the regular season, Lebanon Valley turned in gutsy performance after gutsy performance over the last three days, getting contributions up and down the lineup, at every defensive position, and from its pair of hurling Haleys inside the circle.

Lebanon Valley held off Widener 2-1 in Sunday's opener before leaving no doubt in an 11-3, five-inning victory over the Pride in the 2015 Commonwealth Conference Softball Championship. The Flying Dutchmen (17-22) capped their magical postseason tournament run with their third-consecutive CC championship, earning an automatic NCAA tournament berth in the process.

LVC pitcher Haley Neff earned the tournament's Most Valuable Player award thanks to her four-win weekend, including two over Widener, the tourney's no. 2 seed, on Sunday afternoon. She allowed just one earned run in the championship round.

Tessa Deardorff got the party started with a lead-off inside-the-park home run to left field in the bottom of the first inning. Emily Johnson's RBI double down the left field line drove in Cheyanne Brown three batters later and Jordyn Miller put an exclamation point on the first-inning scoring when she launched a two-run home run over the left field fence.

After helping chase Widener starter Ally Horvath from the game in the first, Deardorff scored again when catcher Taylor Church threw behind her at third base and the ball got away into left field in the bottom of the second. Johnson and Miller stayed hot, offensively, and used back-to-back doubles to drive in two more, upping the Dutchmen advantage to 7-0 after two.

Brown earned her first RBI of the game when her single to center field drove in Elaine Gross in the third, putting Lebanon Valley in position to wrap things up early.

Widener (25-9) responded in the fourth, scoring three runs, two of the unearned variety, on four hits and an LVC error to keep the team's championship hopes alive.

Miller had other ideas, however, and her second homer of the game, a solo shot over the fence in left field, halted the Pride momentum in the bottom of the frame.

Neff retired Widener in order in the top of the fifth while Jorey Aumiller led off the bottom of the frame with a double, Deardorff moved her to third with a single before stealing second, and Brown put a bow on a third-straight conference crown when she singled up the middle and drove them both in, sealing the win and setting off a frenzied Dutchmen celebration at home plate.

The opener was Lebanon Valley and Widener's second tight matchup in as many days. This time, the Dutchmen (16-22) exorcised the demons of Saturday's walk-off defeat with a hard-earned 2-1 win; the team's third-straight elimination game victory.

Sammy Bost got a two-out rally going in the top of the first when she singled through the right side before stealing second base. Emily Johnson hit a high infield fly ball but Widener pitcher Lex Schengrund couldn't squeeze it. The error allowed Bost to push across and give LVC an early 1-0 advantage.

After allowing two singles in the bottom of the first, Neff worked out of the jam with some assistance from Alissa Robinson when the third baseman turned two to end the inning and the threat.

A pitchers' duel ensued as Neff and Schengrund combined to allow just four hits over the next five innings, with each hurler stranding runners in scoring position to keep the game's outcome from being decided until crunch time.

LVC added an insurance run that proved to be the difference in the top of the seventh when Aumiller singled through the left side, Deardorff moved her along with a groundout to third base, and Brown drove her in with a clutch, two-out, RBI single to center field.

The Pride (25-8) appeared to be on their way to handing Lebanon Valley another heartbreaking defeat when a Dutchmen error allowed a run to score with two down in the frame's bottom half, but with the tying-run at second base, Neff got Horvath to ground out to Aumiller on the right side of the infield to force a deciding game and push LVC closer to a conference crown.

Quotables
"I don't know that there's been another group that stayed the course and didn't panic like they did. This group had every reason halfway through the season to just bag it, turn it in, just play out this string and be done. Something about our senior class, they just kept at it, kept getting better, and everyone jumped on their backs. It's a testament to them." – LVC head coach Stacey Hollinger on the play and leadership of the class of 2015.

"How 'bout Jordyn?" – Short and sweet from Hollinger on Jordyn Miller's insane day at the plate.

"I went in with a lot of motivation to prove everyone wrong. We came in as the underdog, we barely got in, frankly, we came in with something to prove and after beating Messiah we said 'we're winning this thing. We're bringing everything we have to win it.'" – CC Tournament MVP Haley Neff on LVC's incredible run to the 2015 conference title.

Inside the Circle
- Haley Neff (10-11) continued her recent string of stellar outings with a complete-game gem in the opener. She allowed no earned runs on just five hits and one walk.
- Widener's Lex Schengrund (14-3) was no slouch, either, allowing just one earned run on six hits and two walks. She struck out six batters in game one.
- Neff (11-11) capped her MVP-worthy tournament run by surrendering just one earned run on six hits in the championship game.
- Ally Horvath (9-5) took the loss for the Pride in the deciding game, allowing four runs on four hits in just 0.1 innings of work.

At the Plate
- The deciding game belonged to Jordyn Miller. The shortstop hit two home runs, a two-run homer and a solo shot, and a double, drove in a game-high four runs, and scored two runs.
- Tessa Deardorff jumpstarted LVC's championship-game victory with an inside-the-park home run, her first homer of the season. She finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a game-high three runs scored.
- Cheyanne Brown hit the walk-off single that secured the title for LVC and went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI. Brown had five hits on the day after finishing 2-for-4 with the game-winning RBI in the opener.
- Emily Johnson had two doubles in the finale, driving in two runs and scoring two of her own. Along with Johnson and Miller, Elaine Gross and Jorey Aumiller doubled once each.
- The Dutchmen had seven extra-base hits in the title game; six doubles and triple by Sammy Bost.

Around the Diamond
- Tessa Deardorff and Cheyanne Brown stole two bases each in the title game while Sammy Bost swiped the only bag of game one.
- In the first contest, Jorey Aumiller assisted on four putouts at second base while Deardorff squeezed three fly balls in left field.
- Deardorff saw the most action in the second outing, finishing with four putouts.
- Haley Neff had four assists and two putouts over the course of two contests.

Stat of the Day
3, 4, 5 – LVC's 2015 Commonwealth Conference title is the team's third-straight and fourth overall. The Dutchmen will be making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance.

Next Up
The Dutchmen will find out their NCAA tournament pairing tomorrow at 10 a.m. The selection show will be broadcast live on NCAA.com.