(LEBANON, Ill., April 23)--Columbia College rolled through its four games to claim the 2008 American Midwest Conference Tournament championship. The Cougars defeated William Woods University 9-0 in Saturday's tournament championship contest.

Saturday's action began with the completion of a suspended game between Williams Baptist College and McKendree University. Play was stopped on Friday due to strong storms in central Illinois with Williams Baptist holding a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. The Eagles needed just minutes to finish off the five-run victory to advance in the elimination bracket.

Williams Baptist met William Woods in the elimination bracket finals, and the teams hooked up in a tight battle. The Owls scratched out a run in the top of the sixth inning, then turned to their defense to preserve the win. A spectacular catch to end the game helped William Woods hold on for the 1-0 win and reach the AMC title game against Columbia.

The Cougars wasted little time in building a big lead with a five-run second inning to grab an early 6-0 lead. Columbia tacked on two more runs in the third inning and one more in the fourth to back the two-hit pitching of Valerie Teter. She also belted a grand slam in the second inning for the Cougars.

RESULTS FROM THURSDAY, APRIL 24
Game 1: Columbia 6, Hannibal-LaGrange 0
(Katie McMahon strikes out nine and walks one in tossing no-hitter to open tournament, retires first 15 batters)
Game 2: William Woods 9, Harris-Stowe 0
(Kendra Propst's two-run single in the second inning gets the Owls' offense off and running; Courtney Vincent allows just two hits with eight strikeouts)
Game 3: Williams Baptist 2, McKendree 0 (10 innings)
(Angela Byrd's two-run double in the top of the 10th inning breaks up scoreless pitcher's duel between WBC's Kim Emmons and McK's Amy Quirin)
Game 4: Illinois-Springfield 2, Missouri Baptist 0
(Kristan Delafeld's two-run home run in the sixth inning provides the only scoring to lift No. 6 UIS to the win)
Game 5: McKendree 4, Hannibal-LaGrange 1 (Hannibal-LaGrange eliminated)
(Bearcats erupt for four first-inning runs; McK's Christine Juehne posts two hits while Colene Pogue tosses compete game)
Game 6: Missouri Baptist 7, Harris-Stowe 0 (Harris-Stowe eliminated)
(Four-run first inning paces Spartans to victory in match-up of St. Louis institutions; MBU's Jessica Robinson fans 10 batters)
Game 7: Columbia 1, Williams Baptist 0
(Sam Stringer's game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning caps two-out rally as Cougars advance to winner's bracket final)
Game 8: William Woods 7, Illinois-Springfield 5
(Owls hold off late rally by Prairie Stars to set up meeting of top two seeds in tournament winner's bracket final; WWU's Shannon Huffman collects two hits and three RBI)

RESULTS FROM FRIDAY, APRIL 25
Game 9: McKendree 1, Illinois-Springfield 0 (Illinois-Springfield eliminated)
(Bearcats' Molly Reed drives home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to keep AMC hopes alive)
Game 10: Williams Baptist 1, Missouri Baptist 0 (8 innings) (Missouri Baptist eliminated)
(Kim Emmons tosses three-hit shutout as Eagles scratch out winning run in the top of the eighth inning)
Game 11: Columbia 10, William Woods 6
(Rachel Brawner's three hits and three RBI leads offensive surge as Cougars advance to AMC Tournament title game; teams combine for 23 hits)
Game 12: Williams Baptist leads McKendree 6-1, middle of the 7th inning (game suspended)

RESULTS FROM SATURDAY, APRIL 26 (CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY)
Completion of Game 12: Williams Baptist 6, McKendree 1 (McKendree eliminated)
(Heather Burnside's four RBI push Eagles into consolation bracket finals)
Game 13: William Woods 1, Williams Baptist 0 (Williams Baptist eliminated)
(Shannon Huffman's RBI triple earns Owls ticket to AMC Tournament championship contest)
Game 14: Columbia 9, William Woods 0 (five innings)
(Valerie Teter blasts grand slam, tosses two-hitter to lead Columbia to AMC Tournament championship)

Click here to view the 2008 AMC Softball Tournament bracket. You can also visit the official tournament website of the AMC Tournament by clicking here.