BOX SCORE - GAME ONE

BOX SCORE - GAME TWO

LATROBE (Apr. 27) - The Bearcats clinched at least a share of the regular season Presidents' Athletic Conference title, hosting rights for the 2012 PAC Softball Championship Tournament and broke the school record for wins with a doubleheader sweep of Westminster, 1-0 and 6-3.

Head coach Nicole Hinerman also reached 100 career wins with the sweep, as the Saint Vincent softball team improved to 23-13 on the season with a 12-4 mark in PAC action. The previous school record for wins in a season was 22 set by the 2008 team. Westminster, who entered the afternoon tied with SVC for first place falls to 20-16 this year and 10-6 in league play.

The Bearcats won a pitchers' duel in the first game, as junior Emily Lauterbach tossed her third complete-game shutout of the season. She improved to 9-3 on the season while scattering just three hits and three walks with one strikeout. Westminster starter Chelsea Brown was tagged with the loss after tossing 7.0 innings and allowing just three hits and one earned run.

With SVC serving as the visiting team in the first game, junior Maria Adams led off the fourth inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Becky Deane. Adams came in to score when freshman Shannon Baczek launched an RBI double to right-center field to drive home the only run of the game.

Westminster threatened in the bottom of the sixth, but Lauterbach was able to force a ground out to Baczek at first base to leave two runners stranded.

Baczek led SVC at the plate accounting for two of the Bearcats' six hits in finishing 2-for-3 with a double. Juniors Sam Shumaker and Ally Vrcek and Deane and classmate Lindsey Daniels accounted for the other Bearcat hits.

In the second game, the SVC bats came alive in the bottom of the third inning as the Bearcats scored five runs on four extra-base hits. Daniels led off with a triple to right center and scored on an RBI double by Adams. Following a Titan pitching change, Deane doubled to left center, driving in Adams. With two outs, Shumaker walked and junior Alyssa Grossman belted her second homer of the season to left field to clear the bases and put SVC ahead, 5-0.

Westminster made it a 5-3 game in the top of the sixth inning when Erica Kimmick hit a three-run homer to right field with one out in the inning off of Vrcek. After a Titans' double, Vrcek was able to strike out two of the next three batters to end the inning and maintain the lead.

The hosts tallied an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth after freshman Suzie Cool led off with a double to left field and scored on an RBI single by Deane, 6-3. Vrcek retired the side in order in the top of the seventh inning to clinch the win and home-field advantage in the PAC Tournament.

Vrcek improved to 6-3 on the season while throwing 7.0 innings and registering 14 strikeouts, one shy of her season high of 15 set earlier this season at Chatham. She yielded just five hits and three runs (all earned) with two walks.

The Bearcats posted 11 hits in the second game as Adams, Daniels, Deane and Grossman each posted multi-hit performances. Deane finished 3-for-3 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while Grossman went 2-for-3 with a HR and 3 RBI.

SVC is scheduled to wrap up the PAC regular season on Saturday, Apr. 28 with a doubleheader at Grove City. The games are set for a 1 p.m. start the the Bearcats enter needing only one run to clinch the PAC regular season championship outright.

The 2012 PAC Softball Championship will be hosted in Latrobe on Thursday-Friday, May 4-5, with a rain date set for Saturday, May 6. Times and teams are yet to be determined.