BLOOMINGTON, Ill. --- Virginia Wesleyan University made two changes to its starting lineup that paid major dividends in helping the Marlins defeat fellow ODAC member Randolph-Macon College, 3-1, on Sunday evening in a winner-take-all semifinal for the final spot in the best-of-3 national championship series in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship at Inspiration Field on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.

Virginia Wesleyan (49-4-1) advances to face Trine University on Tuesday and Wednesday in a best-of-3 series to the Division III title. The Thunder (44-5) earned their place following a marathon 10-9 victory in eight innings over Linfield University. VWU and TU have played for three of the past four walnut & bronze trophies.

The Marlins won the third of their three titles in 2021 over Texas Lutheran University, adding to their championships in 2017 over then St. John Fisher College and 2018 over current host Illinois Wesleyan. Trine finished as the runner-up to Christopher Newport University in 2022 and then claimed the final prize over Salisbury University in 2023.

Randolph-Macon closes its campaign at 42-14 in head coach Krysti Maronski-Neufeldt's first season in Ashland. The 42 wins tie RMC's program record from 2023 (42-12). The Yellow Jackets went 8-3 over 11 games in the NCAA Tournament, bringing the program's win-loss record on the national stage to 28-19 (.596) in eight appearances.

VWU head coach Brandon Elliott made two changes to his starting lineup, inserting Joslyn Woodard as the designated player in the eighth spot in the batting order and turning to first-year righty Hannah Hearl in the circle. Both proved pivotal in the Marlins recovering from their first loss in the 2025 NCAA postseason earlier on Sunday.

Hearl, making her first appearance in Bloomington and toeing the pitching plate for the first time since defeating Gettysburg College, 10-1, in the super regional clincher nine days prior, went the distance for the Marlins. She surrendered RMC's run on three hits. She did not walk a batter and struck out one. The first batter she faced reached via an error, but she retired the next 12 batters in a row before allowing a lead-off single to Reagan Hill in the fifth inning.

Woodard drove in Virginia Wesleyan's first run and scored their third in her first start of the championship round. All three Marlins' runs came in the fourth inning. Samantha Dietsch singled up the middle with one out and promptly stole second. Olivia Knight, who saw her streak of three straight games with a homer snapped, walked to further set the table for Woodard's second at-bat. She responded with a single to left field to bring in a sprinting Dietsch and advanced Knight to second. Alexis Hudgens moved each runner up one base with a sacrifice bunt. Sarah Prosser followed with a two-run double to left-center, plating both Knight and Woodard.

Randolph-Macon pulled one run back in the sixth inning. Amanda Lanyon belted her fourth homer of the season over the left-center wall with one down. That matched her career-high for homers for a third season.

The Yellow Jackets gave their fans a bit of hope in the final frame with a lead-off double to center by Charlotte Boswell, but Hearl induced outs on the next three batters to close out the contest.

Randolph-Macon All-American right-hander Gracie Ellis closed out her stellar career with her 29th complete game of the season. She allowed three runs on 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Her 29-6 record leaves her with a 95-18 career record over 129 total appearances. She struck out a career-best 294 batters in a career-high 238.1 innings this season. That brings her career totals in both categories to 961 punchouts in 764.0 innings. All four totals -- wins, appearances, innings, strikeouts -- are Randolph-Macon records to go along with her nine saves, 41 shutouts, and 1.26 ERA.