MOUNT GREENWOOD — St. Xavier University's No. 5-ranked softball team advanced Tuesday night to the championship game of the 2016 NAIA Softball World Series.
The No. 4-seed Cougars defeated the No. 6-seed Southeastern University (Fla.) 3-0 to punch their ticket to the final game at 5 p.m. Thursday in Sioux City, Iowa.
St. Xavier will play either Southeastern again for the title or square off against No. 1-seed Oklahoma City University or the No. 2-seed Auburn University at Montgomery.
At 3-0, the Cougars are the only undefeated World Series team remaining and would have to lose twice in Thursday's championship due to the double-elimination tournament format, according to league reports.
Senior Nicole Nonnemacher of Downstate Bloomington pitched a complete game shutout Tuesday night — her third straight — to put the St. Xavier squad one win away from its first championship.
Nonnemacher (31-4) finished with nine strikeouts and allowed just three hits in the seven-inning victory. She has tossed all 21 World Series innings for the St. Xavier pitching staff with a total of 31 strikeouts and five hits during this stretch.
"It's like a dream come true. It's different when it is actually happening," Nonnemacher said in a report from the university in Mount Greenwood.
The run support "definitely helped me stay relaxed," she said. "I knew my defense was there too, so it was great."
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