XENIA, Ohio (May 1) – The Tigers were bounced from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Tournament following a 6-2 loss to Cedarville Friday afternoon at the Athletes in Action Sports Complex.
The loss ends the Salem International University softball team's season with a 13-33 overall record and a top-four finish in the league tournament. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets improve to 31-20 and advance to play Davis & Elkins in another elimination game Friday evening.
The Tigers broke out the bats in the bottom of the first inning against Cedarville. Senior
Kayla Guta (Bentleyville, Pa./Bentworth) got the team rolling with a lead-off single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After junior
Katie Chryssofos (Chapmanville, W/Va./Logan) drew a walk, freshman
Hanna Crew (Canton, Ohio/Perry) singled in the first Tiger run and classmate
Cass Alexy (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) followed up with another RBI single to give Salem International a 2-0 lead.
Cedarville threatened in the second inning with a lead-off double and a sacrifice bunt to push the runner to third base. The Yellow Jackets attempted a safety squeeze to score the runner, but a quick flip by redshirt-freshman pitcher
Kayla Lynch (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) to her freshman sister
Shannon Lynch (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) beat the runner to the plate and kept Cedarville off the board.
The Yellow Jackets finally broke through in the fourth inning on a two-run scoring single to even the score at 2-2, but Lynch stranded a runner in scoring position to keep the game tied.
Salem International looked poised to regain the lead in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with one out on a base hit and two walks, but a 6-2-3 double-play ended the inning to prevent the Tigers from doing any damage.
Cedarville connected on three base hits to lead off the sixth inning, including a RBI triple, and scored twice to take a 4-2 advantage, its first lead of the game. The Yellow Jackets tacked a pair of insurance runs in the seventh inning to increase their lead to four and leave the Tigers with an uphill climb in the bottom half of the inning.
Salem International was down to its final out in the game when Discepola kept the team alive with a single up the middle. Chryssofos drew her second walk of the game and Crew reached on a fielder's choice when Discepola dodged a tag at third base to bring the tying run to the plate. Cedarville forced the final batter to ground out to end the game and eliminate the Tigers from the tournament.
Kayla Lynch (4-17) took the loss in the circle after allowing six runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and two walks in a complete game effort.
Several Tigers connected on base hits, led by Discepola who tallied three base knocks. Chryssofos, , who was pitched to delicately by the Yellow Jackets, finished with one hit and two walks in four plate appearances. She finishes the season with a school single-season record 13 home runs and is currently tied for the G-MAC single-season record. The G-MAC record may change, as Trevecca Nazerene shortstop Ansley Brantley has also hit 13 this season and still has games to play in hand.
Salem International, the No. 6 seed in the field, advanced beyond the first day of the G-MAC Tournament for the second season in a row and will return the bulk of their young roster to the field next season.
