GREENCASTLE, Ind.--- The Moravian College softball team fell, 9-6 and 10-7 in the final two games of the NCAA Division III Super Regionals at DePauw University on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
"I obviously wish I was sitting here with better feelings, but two tough games that we had leads in that we let slip away," commented Head Coach John Byrne. "They really came in and silenced our bats in the last five innings. I told them that seven wasn't enough against this team. They are scrappy and hit the ball, and their pitching held us at bay which was the big difference. We needed to keep chipping away like they did but we didn't. I give them all the credit in the world they are a good team and we needed to do a better job."
Moravian finishes the season at 38-8, the second most wins in a single season in school history as the Hounds were making their 15th appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Blue & Grey earned their fourth Regional Championship last weekend in Rochester, N.Y.
In the opener Saturday, junior right fielder Mary Schlosbon gave the Hounds their first runner after hitting a single to left field to start the first inning, and she would later steal second before sophomore left fielder Julie Siragusa reached first after being walked. Senior designated player Lizzie Mack singled to center field and advanced to second on an error with Schlosbon scoring for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The Tigers would counter to tie the game 1-1 heading into the second inning.
After a three-up, three-down inning, the weather would move in causing the field to be tarped for the first of two times of the day, this time for a 31-minute delay. The second and third inning saw no runs cross the plate.
The Greyhounds had four hits in the fourth inning starting with a single from Siragusa, who advanced to second on a fielding error. Mack laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner before sophomore second basemen Madison Newhouser, who was 2-for-4 in the game as Moravian collected nine hits, scored the run to retake the lead with an RBI single to right field. Sophomore shortstop Lizzie Deutsch singled through the left side while sophomore pinch hitter Abby Jeffries advanced the runners to scoring position. Freshman catcher Janae Matos was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Newhouser raced across the plate on a wild pitch, leaving two on for senior first basemen Jenn Dalickas, who knocked in the pair with an RBI double to left center for a, 5-1 lead. Dalickas tied Janelle Brey's career record on the play with her 53rd career double.
In the top of the sixth, Moravian tacked on another run when senior center fielder Dior George singled in freshman pinch runner Jackie Marshall. However, the Greyhounds would strand a total of six runners on base and have another thrown out at the plate in the game.
DePauw would knock in five runs to tie the game, 6-6, in the bottom of the sixth and with only one out away in the inning, the tarp would come out again for a delay of just under four hours. After the delay in the bottom, the Tigers hit a three-run walk off homer for the 9-6 win, tying the series at 1-1 and forcing the if necessary game.
Freshman Amanda Carisone tossed the first 5.2 innings for the Greyhounds with one strikeout while freshman Josie Novak entered the circle after the long rain delay.
The Blue and Grey started off strong in the final game of the series to see who would advance to the 2015 NCAA Division III World series by scoring three runs in the first inning. Schlosbon singled through the right side to start things off while George singled to center with both runners advancing on an error and Schlosbon scoring from first base. Siragusa followed up with a single through the left side, scoring George. Mack would tack on another run with an RBI double down the left field line for the 3-0 lead.
A quick inning in the field for the Hounds got the bats going again right away scoring another four runs in the top of the second. Sophomore third baseman Chrissy Marinaro reached on an error and was advanced when Dalickas was walked for the 52nd time this season. Schlosbon loaded the bases with a walk, and after a pitching change, George connected on a two-RBI double to right center for two runs. Siragusa was walked to load the bases again before Mack ripped a singled up the middle for another two runs and a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the second.
DePauw cut the lead to, 7-3, in the bottom of the third and added another two in the bottom of the fourth as the Greyhounds went scoreless the rest of the way. Moravian left seven runners on base in the contest while collecting eight hits as George and Mack were both 3-for-4.
Novak tossed the first 4.2 innings with one strikeout to finish with 162 strikeouts for the season, the seventh-best season in school history, while Carisone tossed the final 1.1 innings with one strikeout. Carisone ended up with the loss in the circle, her first since the opening day of the season on March 8 to snap a personal 19-game winning streak.
Saturday marked the final day for the Greyhounds' three seniors – Dalickas, George and Mack, who missed Moravian's graduation that started at the same time as the first game in Indiana. The trio helped Moravian to a 132-39 record (.772) during their four-year careers with four postseason appearances, two Landmark Conference Championships and a pair of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, going 7-5 in NCAA action. The group also earned 10 Landmark All-Conference honors including nine First Team selections, two Landmark Conference Player of the Year honorees in Dalickas in 2014 and 2015 and one Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year in George in 2012. The trio also earned nine National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Louisville Slugger All-Region honors with five on the First Team and Dalickas garnered Second Team All-America honors in 2014. Dalickas is eligible for All-America accolades again this spring which will be announced on Wednesday, May 20.
Dalickas, George and Mack combined for 513 career hits over the last four years for a .394 career batting average to go along with 385 runs scored, 124 doubles, 16 triples, 52 home runs, 334 RBIs, 825 total bases, a .634 slugging percentage, 172 walks, 39 hit-by-pitch, 16 sacrifice flies, 33 sacrifice bunts 48 stolen bases and a .479 on-base percentage. The group also had 845 putouts and 117 assists in the field while Mack had a 12-3 career mark in the circle with two shutouts, a no-hitter and 51 strikeouts in 98.2 innings. Dalickas tied or set 14 school records including career marks for home runs (35), total bases (373), slugging percentage (.804), walks (89), on-base percentage (.535) and doubles (53 – tied with Janelle Brey '04). George added three other school records including runs scored in a career with 185, and both Dalickas and George joined Heather Bortz '05 in the 200-hit club with George finishing at 214 career hits and Dalickas at 205.
"This was a special group," said Byrne. "Their freshman year, they had the opportunity to win a conference championship and go to regionals where they fell a little short. Then we had a couple of years where we fell short of a conference championship which we had won 13 years in a row. I know they wanted to put this program back to where it had been when they arrived here and I told them at the end that I was so proud of them for accomplishing that goal. We are now back to where we belong and that there are only eight teams playing after today and they have nothing to be ashamed of since they did everything they could. They had great individual careers and more importantly academic careers. I couldn't be more proud of them, the way they represented the college, the program and themselves throughout the four years and I wish them nothing but the best in the future."
