DUBOIS, Pa. (May 20, 2021) – For the first time in the softball program’s brief history, Florida National (28-13) claimed the USCAA National Title with a 5-0 win over the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Pomeroys (19-18) on Thursday afternoon.
Paced by the tournament’s Most Valuable Player Natasha Trujillo, the Conquistadors held the Pomeroys in check en route to a perfect 4-0 record in this year’s Small College World Series. Trujillo (12-5) threw a complete-game shutout on Thursday, allowing just six hits while striking out four. The native of Whittier, California, finished the four-day tournament with a 1.17 ERA. She logged a 3-0 record and posted a save, striking out 15 batters in 18 innings of action.
Trujillo was also named to the all-tournament team along with Gabryella Hay and Nini Underwood. Hay was perfect from the plate on Thursday, batting 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The FNU first baseman led the tournament with seven RBI, batting .500 (7-for-14) with a double, two triples, and a home run. Underwood went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the title game to cap off four day where the senior shortstop hit a blistering .643 (9-for-14) with one RBI and eight runs scored.
Having faced SMWC the previous day, FNU made sure to keep the defending national champs (2019 title winners – no winner in 2020 due to COVID-19) off the scoreboard. With solid pitching by Trujillo and stellar defense, the Conquistadors kept a zero in Pomeroy’s run column as SMWC left six runners on base.
The Conquistadors jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Megen Johnson recorded her fourth RBI of the tournament on sacrifice fly. She later added another in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI-single through the left side. Johnson ended the day batting 1-for-2 with two RBI. An RBI-triple by Hay in the bottom of the third extended FNU’s lead, 2-0.
FNU tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth to create a five-run cushion. Following Johnson second RBI on the day, freshman Gabriela De Oliveira drove in two on a sac fly to center. A “heads-up” play by Hay, who was on second, gave the Conquistadors a 5-0 advantage.
With the win, FNU closes out the 2021 season with 28 wins – the most in program history. Boasting four USCAA All-Americans, three USCAA All-Academic honorees, and the USCAA Coach of the Year, the Conquistadors ended the year having not lost back-to-back games since March 5 (24-4 during that span).
