The UNC Greensboro Spartans incredibly punched their ticket to the NCAA Softball Tournament on Saturday. Trailing 6-5, the Spartans reeled off back-to-back solo home runs to tie, win the game, and clinch the Southern Conference Tournament Championship.
It all started when Jessie Shipley, who walked off on Friday to send the Spartans to the final, tied the game with a solo blast.
TIED BALL GAME, 6-6
SHIPLEY WITH THE HOMER#letsgoG pic.twitter.com/SgijMqJ3ZQ
— UNCG Softball (@UNCGSoftball) May 13, 2023
Right after that, Maycin Brown stepped up to the plate. Brown took a big cut at a 3-2 pitch with one out in the inning, and the rest was history. The top-seeded Spartans epically won the game as Brown’s homer soared into the bleachers. She excitedly rounded the bases and joined her team at home as they mobbed her and celebrated.
NO WAYYYY!!
Maycin Brown absolutely SLAMS this one over the right field fence for the game winner!!
The Spartans are going to the NCAA Tournament! pic.twitter.com/OHR3nb8vjc
— UNCG Softball (@UNCGSoftball) May 13, 2023
UNC Greensboro may be a mid-major, but they are no such. This title victory was their third SoCon championship in program history. The win vaults the Spartans into the NCAA Tournament, where they hope to make a run and surprise some more. They’ll likely have their work cut out, but it doesn’t get much sweeter than this.
The Spartans go into Selection Sunday with a 37-20 record. UNC Greensboro will enter the NCAA Softball Tournament hot as winners of their last six games and 11 of the previous 13. So they will be a tough and feisty out for whoever they face.
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022