Saint Leo University’s softball team was the program’s first NCAA Division II national championship on Wednesday evening in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In the best-of-three championship round, the top-seeded Lions won twice against sixth-seeded McKendree – 15-4 on Tuesday and 5-2 on Wednesday.
In the clincher, Brooksville junior Sydney Cline went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and made a diving two-out catch in center field to stop two McKendree runs.
ALSO READ: UTampa men's lacrosse scores in overtime to clinch NCAA Division II championship
The Lions hosted and advanced through the NCAA tournament regional and super regional to reach the Division II World Series. They reached the finals with wins over No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas, No. 4 California-San Marcos and No. 5 West Texas A&M.
Junior Alexis Barber, who attended Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She went 7-for-20 with six RBI at the World Series, including a walk-off home run in the 10th inning of the Lions’ 5-4 victory over West Texas A&M to reach the championship round.
Barber, Tierney Hocquard, Hailey Beuerlein, Abigail Hynes, Alexis Barber and Izzy Laroche represented Saint Leo on the all-World Series team.
Saint Leo finished the year with program-best 54-3-1 record, which included a 38-game winning streak. The Pasco County school Leo earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Sunshine State Conference.
McKendree, of Lebanon, Illinois, finished the season 51-17.
