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ROCK HILL, SC— McKeni Corn's run in the top of the seventh inning proved to be the game-winner for the Eagles in a 4-3 victory over top-seeded Coastal Carolina to advance to the “Winner Take All” game of the Big South Conference Softball Championship presented by Musco Lighting.

The two teams squared off earlier in the day as the Eagles had won their first two games while the Chanticleers worked their way back through the loser's bracket. Coastal Carolina won on a two-run walk-off home run by Morgan Noad in the bottom of the eighth inning for a 6-4 victory.

In the second game of the day, Corn tied the game in the top of the seventh with a one-out single to right and then made the play of the game while all eyes were elsewhere. Senior Chelsey Schoenfeldt stepped up to the plate with a chance to give the Eagles the lead and she didn't disappoint. Schoenfeldt ripped a 2-2 offering from Kiana Quolas toward the right field line. Chanticleer first baseman Jazmin Daigle reached out and tried to snag the shot off the bat of Schoenfeldt, but the ball hit the top of her glove and bounced behind her up the line. Daigle turn and fielded the ball quickly as the two raced for first base. Schoenfeldt sprinted down the line and dove into first for the base hit. Corn noticed everyone was focused on the play at first and hustled around to score the game-winning run.

The win puts the Eagles (28-28) in the Big South Conference title game against Longwood (40-18) on Sunday at noon at Terry Field with the game being aired on ESPNU. It is a single-game as the winner will earn a berth to the NCAA Regionals.

“I'm very excited for this special group of young ladies to get to the big game,” said Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke, who will be coaching in his 10^th Big South title game. “These kids came out playing their hearts out. I'm proud of how hard they fought and battled. Coastal is a quality team, that's why they're the number one seed. It was a knockdown, drag out in both games. That game we came through in the clutch in the end. They came through in the end against us in the end with the home run. Our kids played so well out there.”

Sophomore Sutton Watson tossed a complete game allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts as she improved to 17-15 on the year.  

“Sutton (Watson) came into that seventh inning with the lead and she had fire in her eyes as she was going to win that game,” said Cooke. “We made a great play at short to throw their fastest runner out at first.”

Coastal Carolina led 2-0 after two innings before back-to-back solo home runs by Corn and Schoenfeldt in the third inning. Corn drove one to left center on the first pitch and Schoenfeldt ripped a line drive to center on a 3-1 pitch that never seemed to get more than 20 feet off the ground, but sailed right over the fence for her 17^th home run of the season. Schoenfeldt is now just one RBI away from tying the Winthrop single-season mark.

A home run by Jessie Winans to lead-off the bottom of the fifth inning put Coastal Carolina up 3-2 before the Eagles rallied in the seventh.

Before Coastal Carolina rallied to win in extra innings of the first game of the day, Winthrop led 4-2 after five innings. Brooke Donovan made it 4-3 with an RBI ground out and Daigle tied the game at 4-4 with a sacrifice fly.

Both teams each scored a run in the first two innings to make it 2-2, but then Winthrop jumped ahead 4-2 in the third inning. Melanie Andrea drew a walk with the bases loaded to score the first run and then Kristy Noble scored on a wild pitch.

Schoenfeldt suffered the loss as she falls to 5-8 on the year after allowing six runs on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts in seven innings. Quolas started the game in the circle for Coastal Carolina, but Morgan Mastriania finished the game and earned the win after allowing just a hit and no runs with a walk and three strikeouts in 1.2 innings.

Mastriania started the second game of the day against the Eagles and suffered the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 6.2 innings.

Schoenfeldt finished with two hits and three RBI on the day while Corn tallied four hits and two RBI.