St. Thomas (Minnesota) may have been the two-time defending champion, but Rutgers-Camden was a two-time winner over the Tommies on the way to its first Division III Softball Championship.

The Scarlet Raptors went unbeaten through the bracket and topped off the school’s first title in any sport with a 3-2 win over the Tommies in the championship final May 22 at Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Rutgers-Camden coach Carl Taylor after the win. “We didn’t hit well today but we got some breaks that went our way. These players did what couldn’t be done.”

Rutgers-Camden pitcher Michelle Schlichtig, the lone senior on the squad, pitched every inning during the tournament, including a complete-game four-hitter in the final. She was 32-3 on the year.

“Every senior wants to end their senior year with a win. When I was on the mound I stayed focused, and the thought of losing never crossed my mind. I just stuck with the game plan and it worked out,” Schlichtig said.

“She had some stuff today,” Taylor said. “I told every one of our players that this pitcher has her stuff and she was going to get it done. She definitely saved the best for last.”

But Schlichtig wasn’t at her best at first. St. Thomas catcher Nikki Conway gave the Tommies a quick lead with a solo home run in the bottom of the initial frame. Conway had been the hero earlier in the day with a 10th-inning grand slam against Muskingum that put St. Thomas in the championship game.

Both teams scored in the fourth. Mo Baney doubled in a run for Rutgers-Camden, but Janet Nagle’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the frame gave St. Thomas a 2-1 lead.

The Scarlet Raptors tied the game in the top of the sixth when Megan Farrell singled home Kathleen Dreitlein from second. They plated the winning run in the seventh when Jayme Feriod scored on an error.

Schlichtig flashed more dominance at game’s end, fanning the final two batters.

Rutgers-Camden finished the season at 47-5, including wins in 37 of the last 38 games. That particular stretch began after a 4-3 regular-season loss to St. Thomas.

The first meeting between the two teams in the tournament came in Game No. 11 with Rutgers-Camden managing a 5-4 win despite more offensive fireworks from Conway. The senior all-American went 3-for-3 and broke the Division III career runs record, but the Scarlet Raptors erased a 3-2 deficit with three unearned runs in the fifth inning, capped by Amber Parker’s two-out, two-run single. Schlichtig allowed four earned runs on six hits and struck out four.

The loss snapped a 29-game winning streak in the playoffs for the Tommies. The five runs allowed also matched a season high.

Conway’s seventh-inning run was the 227th of her career (in 187 games) as she broke the NCAA Division III record of 225 set by The College of New Jersey’s Michelle Carlson (206 games, 1991-95).

“They (Rutgers-Camden) have a great team, great pitcher and great defense, and they play hard and always play to win,” said St. Thomas coach John Tschida after the championship game. “Our team played and always worked hard. It’s disappointing, but it’s more upsetting that this will be the last time our girls and seniors will play together.”

St. Thomas completed the year at 48-4.

Game No. 1

Ramapo         001     000     0 — 1              4          0

Rutgers-Camden      001     002     x — 3              4          0

Katie Norton and Lisa Rizzo; Michelle Schlichtig and Mo Baney.  W — Schlichtig; L — Norton.

Game No. 2

Ithaca  000     000     1 — 1              4          1

Coe     000     001     1 — 2              7          0

Nicole Cade and Hannah Shalett; Ellie Schultz and Leslie Schnack. W — Schultz; L — Cade.

Game No. 3

Williams         020     010     0 — 3              3          3

St. Thomas (Minn.)    300     002     x — 5              7          4

Clara Hard and Katie Powers; Maria Bye, Janet Nagle (4) and Nikki Conway. W — Nagle; L — Hard.

Game No. 4

Linfield            000     000     0 — 0              1          1

Muskingum    001     200     x — 3              5          0

Brittany Miller and Jena Loop; Erica Hoyt and Kari Hoying. W — Hoyt; L — Miller. HR — Juli Johnston (M).

Game No. 5

Ramapo         100     200     0 — 3              4          1

Ithaca  005     000     x — 5 10        0

Marissa Marino, Katie Norton (3) and Lisa Rizzo; Nicole Cade, Carly Myers (5) and Hannah Shalett. W — Cade; L — Marino. HR — Rizzo.

Game No. 6

Linfield            012     120     2 — 8  8          1

Willims            000     100     0 — 1  7          5

Kendra Strahm, Brittany Miller (5) and Jena Loop; Margaret Ryan, Clara Hard (6) and Katie Powers. W — Strahm; L — Ryan.

Game No. 7

Rutgers-Camden      000     104     0 — 5  5          0

Coe     000     000     0 — 0  4          3

Michelle Schlichtig and Mo Baney; Ellie Schultz, Shallyn Duffy (6) and Leslie Schnack. W — Schlichtig; L — Schultz.

Game No. 8

St. Thomas (Minn.)    200     74 — 13         15        2

Muskingum    100     01 —  2          4          3

Janet Nagle and Nikki Conway; Amy Mattin and Kari Hoying. W — Nagle; L — Mattin. HR — Nagle.

Game No. 9

Coe     010     010     0 — 2  6          0

Linfield            100     130     x — 5  7          0

Ellie Schultz, Shallyn Duffy (6) and Leslie Schnack; Brittany Miller, Kendra Strahm (5) and Jena Loop. W — Strahm; L — Schultz. HR — Ashley Leonard (C), Shelly Steinke (L).

Game No. 10

Muskingum    600     011     1 — 9  10        0

Ithaca  100     000     0 — 1  2          2

Erica Hoyt, Amy Mattin (3) and Kari Hoying; Nicole Cade, Carly Myers (1) and Hannah Shalett. W — Mattin; L — Cade. HR — Heather Fields (M).

Game No. 11

St. Thomas (Minn.)    100     020     1 — 4  6          4

Rutgers-Camden      002     030     x — 5  7          3

Maria Bye, Janet Nagle (5), Bye (6) and Nikki Conway; Michelle Schlichtig and Mo Baney. W — Schlichtig; L — Nagle.

Game No. 12

Muskingum    000     020     0 — 2              5          0

Linfield            000     000     1 — 1              6          2

Erica Hoyt and Kari Hoying; Kendra Strahm, Brittany Miller (6) and Jena Loop. W — Hoyt; L — Strahm. HR — Heather Fields (M).

Game No. 13

Muskingum    000     000     001     0 — 1              4          3

St. Thomas (Minn.)    000     000     001     4 — 5 13        2

Erica Hoyt and Kari Hoying; Janet Nagle and Nikki Conway. W — Nagle;  L — Hoyt. HR — Conway.

Championship game

Rutgers-Camden      AB       R         H         RBI      BB       SO      PO      A

Marissa Van Cleef, cf           4          0          0          0          0          0          1          0  

Autumn Millett, rf        4          1          0          0          0          1          0          0  

Michelle Schlichtig, p            3          0          0          0          0          2          0          2    

Kathleen Dreitlein, 1b           2          1          0          0          1          1          6          0    

Megan Farrell, 3b      2          0          1          1          1          0          2          1    

Mo Baney, c   2          0          1          1          0          0          8          0    

Amber Parker, dh     3          0          0          0          0          1          0          0    

Jayme Feriod, 2b      3          1          1          0           0         2          1          2    

Alaina Giles, ss         3          0          0          0          0          1          2          1    

Mandi Moore, lf         0          0          0          0          0          0          1          0  

 Totals  26        3          3          2          2          8          21        6  

St. Thomas (Minn.)    AB       R         H         RBI      BB       SO      PO      A  

Carrie Embree, 1b    2          0          0          0          1          0          8          0    

Nikki Conway, c        3          1          1          1          0          0          9          0    

Maria Bye, p  2          0          1          0          1          1          0          2    

Anne Carpentier, pr  0          1          0          0          0          0          0          0    

Ashley Carlblom, 2b 3          0          0          0          0          1          1          1    

Mandy Evans, 3b      2          0          0          0          0          1          0          5    

Janet Nagle, dh         3          0          1          1          0          1          0          0    

Kristina Trapp, lf        1          0          0          0           0         1          1          0    

Colleen Owen, ph/lf   2          0          1          0          0          0          0          0    

Morgan Betker, ss    2          0          0          0          0          1          0          0    

Kaitlyn Wightman, ph            1          0          0          0          0          1          0          0    

Missy Bruggeman, rf 2          0          0          0          0          0          1          0    

Fiona Lodge, ph        1          0          0          0          0          1          0          0    

Linh Tran, cf   0          0          0          0          0          0          1          0    

Totals  24        2          4          2          2          8          21        8  

Rutgers-Camden      000     101     1 — 3              3          1

St. Thomas (Minn.)    100     100     0 — 2              4          3

E — Moore, Embree, Carlblom, Betker. LOB — Rutgers-Camden 5; St. Thomas (Minn.) 4. 2B — Baney. HR — Conway. SH — Baney; Evans. SB — Bye, Owen.

Rutgers-Camden      IP         H         R         ER       BB       SO      AB       BF

Michelle Schlichtig (W)         7.0       4          2          1          2          8          24        27

St. Thomas (Minn.)    IP         H         R         ER       BB       SO      AB       BF 

Maria Bye (L) 7.0       3          3          1          2          8          26        29

Umpires — Terri Rosenwald, Danni Carson, Jim Craig. T — 1:41. A — 258.