BEAVER FALLS, Pa. (May 4) – After defeating Grove City in the opening game of the 2023 Presidents' Athletic Conference Softball Championship Tournament, Saint Vincent saw its season come to a close with a 5-3 defeat to Geneva in Game B.
In the opener, Saint Vincent rode a fast start to a 7-3 win over the Wolverines, before the nightcap saw Geneva come back from an early 2-0 deficit by scoring five runs over the game's middle innings.
GAME ONE: Saint Vincent 7, Grove City 3
The Bearcats got out to a quick start in the day's first game, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Olivia Persin led off the game with a double to left field, before Jessica LaPorte walked. After a pair of quick outs, Haley Bicko singled to left center to plate Persin and Leah Yoder walked. Nicolette Kloes then followed with a single to left to plate Bicko and LaPorte and up the lead to 3-0.
The Wolverines answered back in the bottom of the second to score two runs on a walk and three singles to cut the deficit to one run.
The teams traded zeroes over the next several frames, before the Bearcats put together a lengthy top of the fifth. Yoder and Katelyn Stokan opened the inning with singles, and Katie Lampe followed with a double to the fence in left field to plate Olivia Goodwin, who was pinch-running for Yoder. Persin promptly followed with a base hit up the middle to clear the bases and open up the SVC lead to 6-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Wolverines scored a single tally after a pair of singles, but Bearcat hurler Olivia Bushore stranded a pair of runners with an inning-ending groundout.
Saint Vincent closed out the scoring in the top of the seventh, as Yoder led off with a double and then scored two pitches later on another two-bagger by Kloes to open up a 7-2 lead.
Bushore got a quick groundout to open the bottom of the seventh, before the Wolverines put a runner on with a single. SVC promptly recorded the second out when Stokan gunned out the runner on an attempted steal at second, before Katie Lampe cradled a popup in front of the third base bag to end the game.
Saint Vincent racked 11 hits in the win, with Yoder going 3-for-3 and Persin 3-for-5 to lead the offensive effort. Kloes was a third Bearcat to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4.
Bushore went the distance in the circle, allowing three runs on nine hits with one strikeout to pick up her seventh win of the season.
GAME TWO: Geneva 5, Saint Vincent 3
As was the case in the day's first game, the Bearcats again drew first blood against the Golden Tornadoes. In the top of the second, Yoder singled to lead off and moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Kloes. Stokan then followed with a single to right to plate Yoder, before Persin reached on a hard-hit error that plated Stokan to give SVC a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Tornadoes countered with a lengthy bottom of the third, scoring three runs on four hits to take their first lead. Two innings later, they would plate two more runs after hitting three straight doubles to increase the lead to 5-2.
Yoder picked up her fifth hit of the day with a single to lead off the top of the sixth. After she gave way to pinch runner Goodwin, Kloes smacked a double to the right-center gap to bring home Goodwin and cut the gap to 5-3. It was the final run of the day for the Bearcats, however, as they would must just one more hit the rest of the way.
Six different Bearcats tallied at least one hit, with Yoder going 2-for-2 with a walk.
Bicko went the distance in the circle, allowing five runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts.
The Bearcats close the season with a 23-15 overall record and qualified for the PAC Championship Tournament for the second straight season, and seventh time in the last nine years.
