Hampton, GA--The Lady Bears of Miles College are the 2012 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Softball Champions, defeating Stillman College, 5-4, to claim the title.
Miles (29-26) jumped out to a 2-1 lead after the first inning and was able fend off the defending champion Lady Tigers of Stillman to claim their first title since 2009.
The early Lady Bear lead held until the bottom of the fourth inning when Stillman plated two runs to take 3-2 lead. The Lady Tigers added to that lead in the sixth when they pushed across another run to extend their lead to 4-2.
Trailing 4-2 into the seventh inning, the Lady Bears mounted a crowd-pleasing comeback. It started with a single by Kayla Cox. Tiffany Roberts followed with a double to advance Cox to third then Amanda Talley hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Cox.
With the score now 4-3, third baseman Katie Haisten delivered a two-run home run in left center field to give Miles a 5-4 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, relief pitcher Kayla Bowmaster gave up only one hit as the Lady Bears claimed the win. Bowmaster entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of Amanda Talley and over three innings of work Bowmaster yielded only one unearned run on two hits.
The Lady Bears’ Amanda Talley, Tiffany Roberts and Terri Roberts were named to the SIAC All-Tournament Team. Katie Haisten, with the championship home run, was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.
With the championship win, the Lady Bears will receive an automatic bid the NCAA Playoffs.
2012 SIAC Softball All-Tournament Team Markea Sheppard, Claflin University Randi Jones, Fort Valley State University Shenaaz Burrell, Kentucky State University Caitlyn Pierotti, Kentucky State University Terri Roberts, Miles College Tiffany Roberts, Miles College Amanda Talley, Miles College Ashley Savage, Stillman College Gabrielle Quarles, Stillman College Tameria Brown, Tuskegee University
Tournament Most Valuable Player: Katie Haisten, Miles College
Most Outstanding Coach: Patrick Peasant, Miles College
