ERIE, Pa. (May 5) – The Vulcans were eliminated from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament on Wednesday afternoon after suffering a pair of dramatic losses at Gannon in a best-of-three quarterfinal series, suffering a 2-1 walk-off loss in Game 1 and dropping a 9-4 loss in Game 2 after allowing six runs in the seventh.
With the sweep, the California University of Pennsylvania softball team finishes the year with a 19-10 overall record. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights improve to 27-13 this season while posting a 20-5 mark since the start of April. Gannon advances to face the winner of the Seton Hill-Mercyhurst series in the semifinals of the league tournament next week.
In Game 1, the Vulcans heled a 1-0 lead before the Lady Knights tied the score with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Gannon then scored the game-winning run in the seventh on a wild pitch with two outs.
Junior
Kelsey Barron (La Salle, Mich./St. Mary Catholic Central) was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks in 6.2 innings pitched. She retired 12-conecutive batters after issuing a two-out walk in the second on Wednesday.
The Lady Knights threatened with runners on the corners in the first before Barron induced an inning-ending double play. In the third, senior shortstop
Alexa Pastor (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) reached on a one-out walk before advancing on a sacrifice bunt. Freshman third baseman
Britney Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) then delivered an RBI single to center field to give Cal U a 1-0 lead.
Cal U looked to extend the lead in the second when freshman left fielder
Jordan Pinneri (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) reached on a double and advanced to third on a single by senior catcher
Brooke Wilson (Coraopolis, Pa./West Allegheny) before a ground-out ended the inning. The Vulcans again left runners on the corners in the sixth before the Lady Knights collected a double and single with two outs to tie the score.
In the bottom of the seventh, Gannon started the inning with a walk and fielding error before both runners advanced into scoring position on a ground-out. On the first pitch of the next at-bat, the lead runner scored the game-winning run.
Facing elimination in Game 2, the Vulcans held a 4-3 lead before the Lady Knights scored six unearned runs in the top of the seventh with two outs. Freshman
Kaitlyn Leary (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) suffered the loss after surrendering eight runs (three earned) on 10 hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. She also matched her season high of six strikeouts while making her first start since March 30.
Cal U took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-out RBI single by freshman center fielder
Alyssa Young (Enon Valley, Pa./Mohawk). The Lady Knights answered with a pair of runs in the second before the Vulcans reclaimed the lead at 3-2 in the third after scoring twice on fielder's choices.
Gannon looked to answer in the fifth with a two-out triple before a fly-out ended the inning. Cal U manufactured an insurance run in the bottom half on two singles.
Britney Wilson started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a two-out RBI single by Young,. The Lady Knights trimmed the deficit to 4-3 in the sixth after the inning started with three-straight singles before Leary stranded runners on second and third.
In the seventh, Leary retired the initial two batters before Gannon started the game-winning rally with a fielding error. The Lady Knights later claimed the lead on a two-run double before scoring on a wild pitch. Following a walk, Cal U made a pitching change and Gannon collected back-to-back RBI singles to increase the lead to 9-4.
Young finished the game 2-for-3 with two RBI and
Britney Wilson went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored.
