TUCSON, Ariz. (Feb. 16) – The Vulcans closed play at the Cactus Classic with a pair of losses to Lone Star Conference (LSC) schools on Sunday afternoon, suffering a 3-2 walk-off loss to St. Mary's (Texas) before dropping a 6-1 contest against Eastern New Mexico.

The California University of Pennsylvania softball team falls to 1-5 overall after playing four schools from the LSC in Arizona this weekend.

Against St. Mary's (5-10), the Vulcans held a 2-0 lead before the Rattlers scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to earn the walk-off victory. Cal U recorded two outs before St. Mary's had runners on second and third. Following a pitching change, the leadoff batter for the Rattlers lined a single and advanced to second on an error that allowed both runners to score and tied the contest at 2-2. St. Mary's then collected another single and had runners on the corners before Cal U reentered its starting pitcher. The Rattlers scored the game-winning run on a wild pitch, 3-2.

Cal U mounted a two-out rally in the top of the second with sophomore left fielder Christiana Czegan (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant) delivering a two-run single. The Vulcans later threatened in the sixth with senior center fielder Sierra Besser-Paul (Montreal, Quebec/Howard S. Billings) posting a double before sophomore pitcher Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) followed with a single. However, a pair of ground-outs halted the inning and prevented a run from scoring.

Besser-Paul collected a pair of hits in the victory, while freshman designated player Izzy Farmer (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) and freshman second baseman Kira Hillhouse (Erie, Pa./McDowell) both scored one run.

Barron (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits with four strikeouts over 6.2 innings pitched.

Against Eastern New Mexico, junior catcher Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) went 3-for-4 with one run scored and one stolen base from the leadoff spot. Farmer added a pair of hits in the loss.

Wilson led off the bottom of the first with a double and later scored on a two-out double by Besser-Paul. The Greyhounds tied the contest in the sixth on a sacrifice fly after the inning opened with back-to-back singles. In the seventh, ENM benefited from four errors and scored five runs to take a 6-1 lead. The Vulcans loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning before the game ended on a fielder's choice.

Freshman pitcher Ellie Lobdell (Warren, Pa./Warren) was saddled with the loss after yielding two runs (one earned) on five hits in 6.0-plus innings.

Cal U is idle for nearly three weeks before competing at the PFX Spring Games in Clermont, Florida, from March 7-12. The Vulcans will play 10 games during the trip to The Sunshine State.