With a 5-1 victory over top-seeded Angelo State in game two of the NCAA Championship Finals, Minnesota State captured its first national championship in program history.
The Mavericks finish the season with a program best 64-7 record which is the second-highest for a NCAA Division II National Champion. North Dakota State finished the 2000 season with a 68-10 overall record. Angelo State takes the loss and finishes its season with a 60-7 overall record.
NFCA Player of the Year Coley Ries went the distance in the circle for the Mavericks, fanning 14 Rambelles in her final showing in the circle for coach Nancy Meyer. The performance came as no surprise, "I knew in pre-game, watching her warm-up that she was even sharper today than she was yesterday with her pitches moving like they were," said Meyer.
Angelo State senior Kenedy Urbany (21-1) struck out three over 3.0 innings, while junior Morgan Hill finished the game also fanning three in 3.0 innings of work.
The Rambelles threatened in the top of the second with two on after a walk and hit-by-pitch. Ries struck out the next batter to work out of the jam, striking out five of the first nine batters to step in the box.
In the third inning, Maverick senior Ashley Thell drove her 16th double of the season off the centerfield wall to score sophomore McKenzie Paap to break the scoreless tie.
Senior Samantha Buhmann led off with a double to left field, and an Angelo State error on freshman Carly Esselman's bunt allowed Buhmann to score and increase the lead to 2-0. Paap later reached on a fielder's choice that pushed Esselman across the plate to stretch the score to 3-0.
Not giving up, Angelo State tried to put together a rally in the sixth when Urbany drilled her 16th home run of the season over the right field wall to close the gap to two, 3-1.
The Mavericks responded adding a pair of insurance runs after junior Jess Meidl single to left scoring junior Alyssa Rickels and sophomore Cori Kennedy to move the score to 5-1.
Meyer and Ries met before the seventh inning, and the meeting was "the same as the seventh inning has been for a few days," said Ries. "Try to not let something happen in the seventh – we're going to attack them, we're going to not be too careful, and just keep going at them like we had all game."
Esselman and Rickels both posted two-hit games to lead the offensive charge, while as a team the Mavericks totaled nine hits. Angelo State posted three hits on the day.
Ries was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player, while Meidl, Rickels, Esselman, and Paap were named to the 2017 Division II All-Tournament Team.
