MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Less than 24 hours after taking game one of the NACC Championship Series on the road, MSOE softball was back on their home turf with two chances to put away Benedictine and take home the trophy. While they would have liked to win the first one and call it a day, the Eagles forced the Raiders into a winner take all game three. Fortunately, they turned in another great performance like they did one week ago and walked away as back-to-back NACC tournament champions.

RESULTS – NACC CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
NACC Championship Game Two
South No. 2 Benedictine – 3
North No. 2 MSOE RAIDERS – 0

NACC Championship Game Three
North No. 2 MSOE RAIDERS – 2
South No. 2 Benedictine – 0

HOW IT HAPPENED
North No. 2 seed MSOE (33-8, 15-5 NACC North) ran into some issues offensively in the first ballgame of the day. South No. 2 seed Benedictine (34-14, 17-3 NACC South) had their ace in the circle and allowed just four hits to the Red & White. Meanwhile, the Eagles scored two in the first and another run in the fourth to take a 3-0 advantage that held up all the way until the end of the contest.

But let's focus on the positives, shall we? The Raiders buckled down in the biggest game of their season and turned the tables on BU. MSOE scored the only two runs of the game in the top of the third inning after being picked as the away team during a pregame coin toss. Kara McKenna tripled after a Delaney Martino walk to drive in her teammate. Grace Salaja was the next batter and poked a ball out into left field to plate McKenna. It was the Lorrin Pondo show after that. The senior went the distance and allowed just six baserunners while keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard. The game featured an incredible play by Grace Salaja out in center field in the middle innings and another one by Celine Pacheco at second to end the ballgame on a diving line drive snag to give the Red & White their second straight NACC tournament title.

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders are NCAA tournament bound for the second straight season, but they will have to wait for the selection show to tell them where they are headed and who they will be playing. That information will be released at Noon on Monday.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.