Box Score
Aston, PA – Marywood University has been eliminated from the Colonial States Athletic Conference softball championships by virtue of a 5-1 loss to second-seed Centenary College Friday afternoon in Aston. Centenary pitcher Kristin Durborow allowed just four hits and struck out eight Pacers for her 20th win of the year. The fourth-seeded Pacers close their 2010 campaign one-win shy of their third consecutive 20-win season with an overall mark of 19-18.
Centenary (30-12) jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an unearned run in the first and tacked on two more in the bottom of the second thanks in part to a Cara Montferrat RBI triple. Montferrat then scored on an ensuing single by Gabrielle Pellegrino as the Cyclones build a 3-0 lead.
Centenary went up 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth after a Caitlin Veverka's infield single to short allowed Nicole Fleming to score and the Cyclones added a fifth run in the next inning on a Angelica Ruiz RBI single up the middle.
Marywood's Kim Lope finally put the Pacers on the board in the top of the sixth when she singled with one out to start the inning, stole second, advanced to third on a Meghin Palmer infield single and scored on a wild pitch.
Lope (Clifton, NJ), Palmer (Greencastle, PA) and Jillian Flanagan (Monroe, NY) were the only Marywood batters to get hits off Durborow. Montferrat, Veverka and Sarah Olsen each had two hits for Centenary. Kaitlyn Jones (Madison Township, PA) took the loss for Marywood.
While it is the first time in the past three seasons the Pacers did not reach the 20-win plateau, it is the first time since the Pacers won the 1995 PAC Championship that the softball team advanced past the first round and to Championship pool play. Marywood beat Immaculata 6-1 on Wednesday in first round action.
The Cyclones advance to play again and will face the loser of today's 4:00 pm game between top-seed Neumann and third-seed Cabrini in Saturday's 10:00am elimination game. Marywood lost 8-4 in their opener against Neumann in the double-elimination tournament while Centenary fell 3-2 to Cabrini in Friday's first game.
