QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University softball team's historic Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament run came to an end by way of an 8-0 loss to No. 11 East Stroudsburg University and an 8-2 decision against Shepherd University Friday in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
 
Prior to Friday, Slippery Rock had never made it to day three of the PSAC Tournament. The program had also not posted a .500 showing or better in the conference's postseason since1982.
 
Falling to Shepherd left Slippery Rock as the final team to be eliminated from the playoffs before the championship game tomorrow. Recipients of fourth place in the PSAC West preseason poll four months ago, SRU by all means exceeded expectations and capped off perhaps the most impressive season in school history by finishing third in the tournament.
 
The two losses move The Rock to 29-21 on the season. The Rock will now await the NCAA Softball Committee's determination of the eight Atlantic Region teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament 10 a.m. Monday. SRU was ranked 10^th in the most recent regional rankings.
 
The East Stroudsburg Warriors (45-9-1) and the Shepherd Rams (27-21-1) will play for the PSAC title 11 a.m. Saturday.
 
Naomi Childs (2-for-4) and Emma Kennedy (2-for-5) led The Rock in their final day of playoff action. Alexsa Hurd (17-7) went 1-for-5 with a home run and and two strikeouts in 4.1 innings.
 
Sydney Brown logged an RBI in a 1-for-1 showing with a double, while Jessica Goldhardt (1-for-4) and Shaylyn Shall (1-for-5) each tallied a hit as well. Paige Gresgott fanned three batters in a combined 4.0 innings, while Kayla Williams made her PSAC Tournament debut with three Ks in 2.0 innings.
 
GAME ONE – East Stroudsburg 8, Slippery Rock 0 (5 innings)
Slippery Rock suffered its first PSAC Tournament loss of the postseason at the hands of an 8-0 defeat by the nationally ranked ESU Warriors. ESU jumped ahead early by converting three runs on two hits and two errors in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Slippery Rock's lone hit of the game came courtesy of a Goldhardt single in the top of the third. The Warriors poured two more runs on with three hits and an error in the bottom of the third to take a 5-0 lead.
 
Three additional ESU hits including an RBI double gave them a 6-0 edge in the fourth, and a bunt that turned into an error allowed two winning runs to come across in the fifth.
 
Goldhardt concluded the game 1-for-1 with her single, breaking up the gem of a game tossed by reigning Division II Freshman of the Year Sarah Davenport (30-2). Davenport fanned five batters and allowed no walks through 5.0 innings. Hurd (17-6) tossed two Ks in the opening 2.2 innings before Gresgott added two more in the last 1.2 frames.
 
Delaney Ridgell led the Warriors by going 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double. ESU finished the game with eight hits, no errors and five left on, while Slippery Rock posted one hit, four errors and none left on base.
 
GAME TWO – Shepherd 8, Slippery Rock 2
A hard-fought effort came up short in an 8-2 elimination loss to Shepherd. The Rock threatened early by leaving two on in the top of the first, but the Rams struck first by piling five runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the second.
 
SRU cut into the lead and made it 5-1 with a solo home run from Hurd in the third inning. Shepherd responded with an RBI double in the bottom half of the third to go up 6-1. A lead-off homer by the Rams in the bottom of the fifth propelled them to a 7-1 lead, but Williams got out of a bases-loaded jam to prevent the run rule.
 
Brown pinch hit for SRU in the top of the sixth and delivered with an RBI-double that scored Kennedy and cut the deficit down to 7-2. Shepherd again answered swiftly with a tricky RBI-double roped down the left line for an 8-2 lead. The Rock got one on base in the top of the seventh by way of a walk but could not find any more offensive production.
 
Hurd's home run headlined a 1-for-3 game, while Browns double made up a 1-for-1 showing. Childs (2-for-3), Kennedy (2-for-3) and Shall (1-for-3) all added to SRU's game at the plate as well.
 
Hurd (17-7) suffered the loss with just one hit allowed in the opening 1.2 innings. Gresgott struck one batter out in the next 2.1 frames before Williams registered three punchouts in an impressive final 2.0 innings.
 
Sam Colaw (6-13) concluded the game with six strikeouts through all 7.0 innings. Lauren Moore went 1-for-2 with the home run, while Haylee Hartman (2-for-4, 3 RBI) was one of five players for Shepherd to hit a double.
 
The Rock ended the game with seven hits, one error and eight runners left on base, while the Rams finished up with 10 hits, no errors and six stranded.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will learn its NCAA Tournament fate at 10 a.m. Monday when the Division II Softball Selection Committee formally releases the 64-team bracket. Eight selections belong to Atlantic Region teams with the champions of the PSAC, the Mountain East Conference and the Coastal Intercollegiate Athletic Association given automatic bids.





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