Cardinals are the NJCAA Region 20 Runner-ups

Catonsville, MD- After a long, hard-fought weekend, the Lady Cardinals emerge as the runner-up in Region 20.

The NJCAA Region 20 2025 tournament was held at the nest this past weekend. The final four teams, #1 Potomac State, #2 College of Southern Maryland, #3 CCBC Catonsville, and #4 Frederick, were all looking to take the title and advance to the NJCAA DII Tournament in Alabama. Friday began with the Catamounts taking the Cougars in a quiet 6-0 to advance to the winners game. The Hawks stunned the Cardinals in game two on Friday 10-3. The Cardinals managed to notch seven hits, but couldn't seem to plate the runs. Alana Watts went 2-4 in the loss.

Saturday was filled with excitement. The winners bracket game, Potomac State and CSM, was a tight-fought contest. The Hawks managed to hold the lead until the bottom of the seventh, when Braylee Corbin smacked a solo shot for the walk-off win, 6-5. Game two on Saturday featured the losing teams from Friday, the Cougars and Cardinals. In a loser-goes-home situation, both teams came out hot. The Cardinals took a 3-0 lead, however in the 5th inning, the Cougars tacked on three runs to call it even. In the bottom of the fifth, Kayla Musgrove hit a sac fly to right field to score Madison Krupiewski to regain the lead. The Cougars answered back in the sixth with two more runs to regain a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, however, Krupiewski singled to score Ava Blum, then Riley Nace singled to score Cassidy Barth to tie it back up at 6 apiece. Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, Musgrove continued to prove clutch as she doubled to center field. The next two Cardinals made outs, bringing up Barth. Barth hit a screamer through the 5-6 hole to score Musgrove and walk it off for the Cardinals. Game three on Saturday featured the Hawks and Cardinals in another matchup. This time, Catonsville came ready to attack. The Cardinals took a first inning lead, capitalizing off a Hawks error. The game would continue to be back-and-forth, with the lead shifting nearly every inning. Nace was 3-5 in the contest, while Watts notched 3 hits, Blum laced 2 hits, and Jordan Cleveland went 2-2 with an RBI. The clutch hitting, consistent pitching of Emily Fagan, and perfect defense gave the visiting Cardinals a 7-5 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. After Barth caught a deep fly ball, Southern Maryland singled to bring the tying run up-to-bat. Kayla Twigg hit a soft line-drive back at Fagan, who made the easy out, and caught Brooklynn Delane off the bag too far to end the game, and advance the Cardinals to Region 20 Championship game.

Sunday's Championship game was all Potomac State, as they got an early 5-run lead from a double off the bat of Skyla Compton. The Catamounts would gain an additional three runs in the second inning, and from there on cruised to the finish line in the fifth inning. The Cardinals couldn't get the bats going, only notching four hits. Two of the four hits came from the bat of Nace, while Krupiewski and Fagan laced a single each. The Catamounts advance to the NJCAA DII National Tournament in Alabama. The Cardinals, despite falling short, still took home hardware as the Region 20 Runner-ups. Sarah Devilbiss, Watts, and Fagan were named to the All-Tournament Team.