ALMA, Mich. (May 13, 2005) -- Aurora University (39-4-1), the top seed in the Alma Regional, handed No. 4 Edgewood College a 5-0 loss in first-round NCAA Division III Championship action on Friday. Spartan pitcher Taylor Petersen, who came into the contest leading the nation with a 0.18 ERA, improved to 26-0 in the pitcher's circle.

Edgewood (30-13) will play the winner of No. 5 Allegheny College (21-17) and No. 3 North Central College (34-11) at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Saturday, May 14. The Eagles defeated Allegheny by a final score of 5-1 earlier on Friday.

The Eagles got four hits off of the Syracuse transfer, and Petersen left five Edgewood runners stranded on the base paths. Meanwhile, the Aurora offense gradually tacked on runs off of Eagle pitchers Brittany Butcher (St. Charles, Ill.) and Amy Bahler (Monroe, Wis.), although only two of those runs were earned.

Aurora, ranked No. 24 in NCAA Division III, held a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning following Dana Cebular's slap two-run home run down the right field line. The Spartans also plated a run in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.

Offensively, Edgewood's Jennifer Stephens (St. Charles, Ill.) singled her first two at-bats and finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate.