Peterson's walk-off homer lifts Eagles past North Florida in ASUN Softball Championship

Florida Gulf Coast punched their ticket to the NCAA Softball Tournament in dramatic fashion, riding a walk-off home run from Neely Peterson to an 8-7, eight-inning win over North Florida in the ASUN Tournament Championship.

After giving up three runs in the top of the opening frame, including a lead-off homer, the No. 4 seed Eagles (37-19) responded with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning.

A single from Nikki Gibson that scored Riley Oakes started the barrage. Tiffany Meek then crushed a double that brought home Gibson and Peterson. McKenzie Wittenberg hit a two-out single that brought Meek in for her second run of the frame, and Sophie Wylie tacked on a run off of a wild pitch.

The No. 2 seed Ospreys (35-19) hung three runs again the the second inning, scoring one run off of a wild pitch and two runs off of a fielding error.

A UNF wild pitch saw FGCU's Avery Viancos take home and knot things up at 7-7 in the second inning.

Despite a hot start from both sides, the game remained tied for the next five innings and the title bout went extra innings.

Allison Sparkman came up big down the stretch, allowing one hit while retiring three North Florida batters in the eighth inning.

"It felt great to come in for a critical moment to give my seniors more softball to play," Sparkman said.

Sparkman's clutch play in the circle set the stage for Peterson's solo walk-off homer, her lone hit in the win. Peterson finished 1-for-2 with two runs and was named Tournament MVP.

"When I was rounding third, seeing my teammates' faces was everything," Peterson said.

Meek's double in the first inning gave her a team-high two RBI, while Gibson went 1-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

"I wanted to lay it out for my sisters who've had my back this whole year," Meek said. "So every dive I made was for them."

Sparkman (12-4) got the win after allowing just two hits, one walk, and no runs through 4.2 innings in the circle while fanning five.

The Eagle's will find out who their date in the first round of the NCAA Women's World Series is during the Selection Show, which will air on ESPN2 on Sunday May 12 at 7 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Peterson's walk-off homer lifts Eagles past North Florida in ASUN Softball Championship