QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (May 2) – The Vulcans split a pair of elimination games on Thursday afternoon during the second day of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament, earning a 3-2 victory over Gannon before suffering a 6-4 loss to nationally-ranked East Stroudsburg – the top teams in both divisions this year.
With the split, the California (PA) softball team finishes the season with a 23-20 overall record. The Vulcans made a fourth-straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament this spring and earned a win in an elimination game for a consecutive year.
Against Gannon (31-13), the Vulcans snapped a six-game losing streak in the series while claiming their first post-season win in the series since 2015. Junior
Caleigh Rister earned the complete-game victory after allowing two runs (both earned) on six hits and one walk over 7.0 innings (99 pitches). She also collected one hit and scored one run at the plate, as Cal was limited to four hits in the victory.
Cal took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a leadoff homer by junior first baseman
Kaitlyn Achtermeier, her fifth of the season. The Golden Knights tied the score in the third inning on a solo homer by center fielder Jenna Clontz. In the fourth, the Vulcans scored a pair of runs on two hits, one walk and one error to reclaim the lead by a 3-1 margin. Rister started the inning with a single and later scored on an RBI single by senior third baseman
Shayna Postler. Cal added to the lead later in the inning when senior designated player
Alyssa Rose scored on a two-out fielding error.
Gannon threatened to answer in the fifth after the inning started with an error and a single. Both runners advanced into scoring position before a ground-out to the right side of the infield prevented the runners from advancing. Rister then registered a strikeout to end the inning before the Golden Knights scored on a two-out single in the sixth to cut the deficit to a 3-2 margin. In the seventh, Rister retired Gannon in order to secure the victory.
Against the No. 15 Warriors (43-14), Cal held a 3-0 lead after the third before ESU scored multiple runs three times over the last four innings. Rister (14-10) suffered the loss after allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits and two walks in 2.2 innings of relief (49 pitches). Rose took a no-decision in the start, yielding four runs (all earned) on seven hits in 4.1 innings (61 pitches).
The Vulcans scored all three of their runs with two outs in the bottom of the third. Junior left fielder
Carlena Fiorilli started the rally with a walk before Rister reached on a single. Rose then delivered a two-run double to right center before Achtermeier followed with an RBI single. ESU countered with a pair of runs in the fourth with two outs before Cal scored on an RBI single by junior shortstop
Brianna Sersevic in the bottom of the inning, 4-2.
The Warriors tied the score in the fifth after scoring twice off three different pitchers. ESU was in position to break the tie in the sixth inning before Cal recorded a force at home on back-to-back plays before a fly-out ended the threat. The Warriors started the seventh with a solo homer by Delaney Ridgell before adding an insurance run with a two-out RBI single, 6-4.
Rose finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored, while Achtermeier went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Postler and Rister both collected a pair of hits and Rister scored one run.
The Vulcans were eliminated from the PSAC Tournament by the Warriors for the second-straight year after the teams last met during the 2015 post-season.
