Softball
Title Run Falls Short at ECAC Southern Championships
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (5/13/07) - For the second time in two days, the Kean University softball team dropped a one-run decision, 4-3, to ECAC Southern Champion LaRoche College in the championship round of the ECAC tournament on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the afternoon, the Cougars defeated Penn State-Behrend, 7-2, to advance out of the losers' bracket to face the second-seeded Redhawks.
The Cougars conclude their season 24-15, their most wins since 1995.
GAME ONE: Cougars Handle Behrend for Second Time This Season
In their first game of the afternoon, the Cougars used a 13-hit attack to defeat the fourth-seeded Lions for the second time this season.
Junior Vicki Lanza (Edison, N.J.) finished 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, while sophomore second baseman Sara Steinman (Springfield, N.J.) added a pair of hits, a double and a RBI and freshman Allison Lizzi (Cherry Hill, N.J.) was 2-for-3 on the afternoon.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Meg Gierke (Glen Gardner, N.J.) scattered eight hits and had seven strikeouts to win her 18th game of the season and move into fourth place in single-season wins.
GAME TWO: Kean Falls Short in Quest for Program's Third ECAC
Title
The Cougars closed out the 2007 season, falling to host La Roche College, 4-3, in their second one-run loss to the Redhawks in as many days.
Junior shortstop Johanna Hedler (South Plainfield, N.J.) was 3-for-4 on the afternoon, while junior third baseman Kara Schultz (Clinton, N.J.) finished 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.
Sophomore Meg Gierke (18-9) went the distance for the fifth time in the tournament, as she allowed six hits and struck-out four batters.