QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Gannon softball team continued a valiant battle Thursday afternoon in the elimination bracket of the 2013 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament at Veterans Park in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. The Lady Knights opened the day with a 14-2 thrashing of Mercyhurst in five innings, before being eliminated with a last-inning 4-1 loss to No. 7 California (Pa.).
Gannon concluded the PSAC Tournament with a 2-2 record, moving its overall record to 24-13. The Lady Knights appear to be on the outside looking in after dropping to ninth in this week's NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings. However, the official word will come Monday, May 6 with the NCAA Division II Selection Show which is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on ncaa.com.
In the opener, Gannon looked like a team ready to make a run. The Lady Knights sent 13 batters to the plate during the bottom of the first inning, producing seven runs on five hits. The first four hitters reached base, capped by
Kirstie Cortazzo (Jeannette, Pa./Jeannette) RBI single with the bases loaded which plated the second run. The first run scored on an error. The explosion included RBI singles by
Caitlyn Colucci (Lancaster, N.Y./Sacred Heart),
Katie Dunn (Troy, Mich./Troy) and
Kasey McKay (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay). Additional runs crossed home plate on
Alexa Archambeault's (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) RBI fielder's choice and
Alyssa Bates' (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) bases-loaded walk.
Gannon answered a Mercyhurst run in the second inning with two of its own.
Samantha Scott (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) forced the first run across with a bases-loaded walk, before McKay followed with an RBI single.
Head coach
Tom Jakubowski's club put the game away with another five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. McKay started the rally with her third RBI single of the game. Bates and Archambeault had duplicate RBI singles to increase the lead to 12-2. The final two runs scored on a Mercyhurst fielding error.
Gannon's scoring output against Mercyhurst represented the program's most runs in a game since a 15-2 victory against Point Park on April 13, 2012. It was the Lady Knights' most runs scored against a PSAC team since a 16-8 victory against Clarion on April 22, 2008.
McKay was a perfect 3-for-3 with one run and three RBIs against Mercyhurst. Archambeault finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Colucci and Dunn also recorded two hits each.
Scott only had one official plate appearance, but walked three times while scoring twice and driving in a run. Bates had two RBIs and Cunha scored a pair of runs.
Megan Dragon (Ashtabula, Ohio/Edgewood) improved to 13-6 with her 14th complete game of the season. The senior right-hander allowed only one run on six hits, struck out six and walked three. She increased her season strikeout total to 110, giving her four consecutive seasons with at least 100 strikeouts.
In Gannon's third elimination game of the tournament, the Lady Knights were matched up against No. 7 California (Pa.) after the Vulcans dropped a 3-2 decision to Bloomsburg.
Jess Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) and Haley Bashada locked up in a pitchers' duel, firing blanks through four innings.
California (Pa.), ranked seventh in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) national rankings and No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, finally broke through in the top of the fifth after scoring on Lindsay Reicoff's two-out RBI double. But Gannon continued to battle and immediately knotted the score in the bottom of the frame on
Meghan Cunha's (North Kingsville, Ohio/Edgewood) two-out RBI double that scored Archambeault.
The only real scoring threat the rest of the way came from Cal in the top of the seventh. The Vulcans put runners on the corners with one out, before Shelby Lia hit a three-run homer to give her squad what turned out to be a 4-1 victory.
Five different Lady Knights recorded a hit in the nightcap. Rectenwald fell to 3-5 despite a well-pitched game. The sophomore surrendered seven hits, struck out four and walked two.
