One sweet sweep

By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANFIELD -- Senior Tiffany Patteson crushed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Youngstown State softball team a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Illinois-Chicago and the championship in the Horizon League tournament Saturday at McCune Park.
The victory gave the Penguins their first league championship and put them into the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time next weekend. The NCAA will announce its pairings today.
Once again it was the long ball, outstanding pitching and solid defense that was the mark of the Penguins throughout their four victories in the tournament.
Sophomore McKenzie Bedra, who set tournament records for home runs (5) and total bases (22), was named the tournament's most valuable player. She homered in the bottom of the sixth inning to deadlock the score and set up Patteson's game winner.
The Penguins (22-25) became the 17th Horizon League team in 20 years to go through the tournament unbeaten and just the fifth host team to win the title.
"This team has just been amazing this week," said YSU coach Christy Cameron. "They did everything that they needed to do to win. It's been a great bunch to coach all season and I'm so happy for them right now."
Beat top-seed twice
The Penguins knocked off UIC twice in the tournament, beginning with Friday's winners bracket final, 3-1, then sat back as the Flames, behind a no-hitter by Sarah Clynes, defeated Cleveland State 2-1 in the finals of the losers bracket Saturday morning.
Clynes, who was the tournament's most valuable pitcher, posting a 3-1 record, was outdueled by YSU junior Karlie Burnell in the title game.
Burnell (16-8), who allowed a first-inning run, shut the door on UIC over the final six innings, including a one-two-three seventh inning.
The Penguins managed just five hits off Clynes, but two of them were homers, while Burnell scattered seven hits and was never in real trouble after the first inning.
"The entire key to this tournament was our defense," said Burnell. "They played unbelievable behind me and that was the difference."
Did not make an error
The Penguins did not make an error in the tournament.
"We said coming into this tournament that defense would be the key," said Cameron. "We made all the routine plays and had a few exceptional ones also."
The Flames (26-33) opened the contest with Clynes leading off with a single up the middle. She was sacrificed to second by Michelle Miller and scored when Nikki Shepard singled to right field.
For the next five innings the two pitchers battled. But in the sixth, with two out, Bedra, who twice hit two home runs in a game in the tournament, belted a long fly ball down the left field line and it just stayed inside the foul pole for the homer that deadlocked the score at 1.
After Burnell retired the side in the top of the seventh, Lacey Hess led off the bottom half of the inning with a fly out to left field.
Game winning blast
Patteson came up and after fouling off a couple of pitches hit a smash down the right field line that had plenty of distance and just managed to stay fair.
"As soon as I hit it I thought it was going foul, because it was inside and I got around on it early," said Patteson. "I knew it had more than enough distance, but until I saw it stay fair I was concerned. That might have been the greatest feeling of my life."
mollica@vindy.com