GROVE CITY, Pa. (April 27) – The Saint Vincent softball team closed out the 2023 regular season by getting swept in a Presidents' Athletic Conference twinbill by a hot-hitting Grove City squad, falling 7-2 in the opener and 13-1 in the nightcap.
In game one, the Bearcats fell behind 4-0 after three innings of play, and after a three-run rally in the fourth cut the gap to one, Grove City pulled away with three more runs over the final three innings.
The Bearcats tallied seven hits in the game, but stranded seven runners on base.
Grove City used a single and a double to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, before the bottom of the third saw eight Wolverines come to the plate, as the hosts scored three runs on four hits and three walks.
After tallying just two hits over the first three innings, Saint Vincent's bats came to life with one out in the top of the fourth. Alex Dillner struck out but reached on a wild pitch to begin the rally, before Allie Prady singled to put runners at first and second. After Leah Yoder reached on an error, scoring Dillner, Haley Bicko drew a walk to lead the bases. Katelyn Stokan then followed with a single to center to bring home Yoder and Prady and cut the deficit to 4-3.
Grove City countered by tallying four hits in the bottom of the fourth but managing only one run, as the inning ended with Dillner cutting down a run with a perfect throw to the plate for the third out.
The Wolverines would close out the game's scoring in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs on four hits, a walk and an error to up the lead to 7-3.
Prady and Bicko each singled in the top of the sixth, but the Wolverines escaped trouble with an inning-ending double play. In the seventh, Katie Lampe led off with a bunt single and Olivia Persin reached base on an error, but the two runners remained stranded, as the Wolverines would get out of the jam with a strikeout and a pair of fly outs to end the game.
Lampe and Prady each had two hits to pace the SVC offense, while Dillner had SVC's only extra-base hit with a first-inning double.
Bicko started in the circle and took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in 3.0 innings of work. Meghan Braun threw the final two frames, allowing three runs (one earned).
Saint Vincent took an early lead in the nightcap, plating one run in the top of the first. With one out, LaPorte and Dillner cracked back-to-back singles, before Bicko followed with a line drive single to left field to bring home Dillner and make it 1-0.
From there, however, it was all Grove City, as the Wolverines gained the lead with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. They would continue to pile on, scoring three more runs in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth. The Grove City offense pounded out 14 hits, while drawing four walks and taking advantage of three SVC errors.
The Bearcats' six hits were recorded by six different players, with Jackie Brace recording the team's only extra-base hit, a pinch-hit double in the fifth inning.
Olivia Bushore started and worked 1 2/3 innings in the circle and was one of three SVC pitchers in the game, with Kylie Meek throwing 2/3 of an inning and Shelby Dobrzynski the final 1 2/3 innings.
The Bearcats close out the regular season with a 22-14 overall record and 12-8 PAC mark, while the Wolverines improve to 21-14 overall and 13-7 in league play.
Saint Vincent will now prep for the PAC postseason, as they will play in a preliminary round playoff game on Monday, May 1, against an opponent and at a site to be determined following the completion of the conference's schedule this weekend.
