Ewing, NJ - The Mount Aloysius softball team's historic 2019 season came to an end on Saturday, as they lost twice in the NCAA Regional round. After winning the program's first ever game in the NCAA Tournament, they were unable to overcome strong pitching performances as they fell to Randolph-Macon and Arcadia, with both games finishing 4-0.

The Mounties first fell to Randolph-Macon in the winner's bracket game. They were only able to muster 1 hit in the contest, a second inning single from Karlie Clark (Yukon, PA/Yough). Clark also started the game in the circle for the Mounties and was able to keep the Yellow Jackets in check through 4 innings. She stranded 2 runners in the first and one in the second as the game entered the 5th inning scoreless. In the 5th Clark allowed a lead off single to start the inning. After a sacrifice bunt and a line out to third, a Randolph-Macon batter ripped a line drive to center field that just evaded the glove of center fielder Courtney Link (Ebensburg, PA/Bishop Carroll) who made a terrific diving effort. The hit ended as a run scoring triple, chasing Clark in favor of Nina Shatzer (Saint Thomas, PA/James Buchanan). Shatzer got the next batter to hit a chopper towards the 6 hole, but saw the speedy batter beat it out for a single to put the Mounties down 2.

Shatzer ran into more trouble in the 6th. She retired the first two batters but then allowed 3 consecutive hits which resulted in the Mounties going down 4. She was replaced by Kara Pisczek (Johnstown, PA/Conemaugh Township) who quickly got out of the inning with a grounder to short. Pisczek allowed two hits in the 7th, but got a double play to get out of the inning with no further damage. 

Clark picked up the loss, moving her record to 7-4 on the season. She allowed 2 runs on 5 hits in 4 and 2/3 innings of work. 

With the loss, the Mounties had to take on the winners of the first elimination game, Arcadia University. After a scoreless 1st, the Mounties threatened to take the lead in the second. Emily Cochran (Natrona Heights, PA/Highlands) led off the inning with a single to left, and moved to second as the ball scooted away from the left fielder. She moved up a base on a Clark single to center. Clark was able to steal 2nd to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. The Mounties were unable to take advantage as the next three Mounties were overpowered by the Arcadia pitching, all striking out to end the threat. 

Cochran pitched the game for the Mounties and kept the Knights scoreless through 3 innings. The Mounties were unable to take advantage of runners in scoring position in the 3rd and 4th innings, and saw that come back to hurt them as Arcadia used a double and a 2 out error to move ahead in the 4th. The Knights used a two out rally in the 5th, using a single, double and another error to tack on 2 more runs. They scored the final run in the 6th. They used a lead off single, wild pitch and two ground outs to score the runs.

Cochran threw all six innings for the Mounties, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits. She finished her season with an 8-2 record. Clark was the only Mountie to record a multi-hit game, finishing 2 for 3. 

While they had a disappointing final day of the season, the softball team can look back on their historic season with pride. They set the program record for wins in a season with 33, won their second consecutive AMCC tournament, and won the first NCAA Tournament game in college history. Upon their return from New Jersey, they were met by staff and administrators from the college who performed a graduation ceremony for three players, Kate Little (Asheville, PA/Penn Cambria), Leanne Cardoso-Bastos (Hillside, NJ/David Brearly) and Caroline Showalter (Bellwood, PA/Bellwood-Antis).