BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The No. 10 Moravian College softball team saw its season come to a close after a pair of elimination games in the 2019 Landmark Conference Tournament at Blue & Grey Field Saturday with the Greyhounds defeating second seed The Catholic University of America, 11-3 in six innings, before falling to fourth seed The University of Scranton, 9-6, in the final elimination game before the championship round.
The Hounds finish the season with a 32-7 overall record, the program's fifth straight and 20th overall 30-win under the direction of 26-year Head Coach John Byrne, who had the Blue and Grey in the postseason for the 25th consecutive year.
Moravian had 15 hits in the opener versus Catholic with junior right fielder Emily Stanilious going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Freshman designated player Alexandria Scheeler was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a pair of doubles while senior left fielder Kat Spilman and sophomore second baseman Shannon Brogran were also both 2-for-3 with Spilman scoring three times and connecting on a double. Junior first baseman Lauren Goetz went 2-for-4 with six RBIs and her team-leading 11th home run of the year on a grand slam.
Sophomore Meghan Bauer earned the win in the circle in relief, tossing 5.2 innings and allowing a run on two hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts as she improved to 4-1 on the season. Junior Paige Lesher made the start for the Greyhounds.
Catholic scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the first inning.
Moravian responded with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-2 lead. Stanilious connected on a one-out single before Spilman walked. Scheeler ripped an RBI double to bring in Stanilious, and after Brogan was hit by a pitch and the second out of the inning, Goetz connected on a two-RBI single to scored Spilman and Scheeler.
The Greyhounds scored three more runs bottom of the second inning for a 6-2 edge. Senior third baseman Julia DeMarco doubled to lead off the inning, and she raced home on an RBI single from Stanilious. Spilman followed with a single before Scheeler ripped a two-RBI double down the right field line as Stanilious and Spilman crossed the plate.
Moravian made it a 7-2 contest with a run in the bottom of the third when senior catcher Madison Shaneberger hit a leadoff single and scored on an RBI single from Stanilious.
The Cardinals plated a run in the top of the sixth before the Greyhounds scored four times in the bottom of the frame for their 15th NCAA eight-run rule victory of the season. Spilman led off the frame with a double before Scheeler drew a walk. Sophomore shortstop Maddisen Bieber connected on a single before Goetz ripped a grand slam to end the contest with her 14th career home run.
Moravian's second contest of the day against Scranton saw the Hounds collect 10 more hits to finish the season with school records of 305 runs, 435 hits, 271 RBIs, a .386 batting average, a .550 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage. Scheeler and Bieber were both 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Bieber connected on a home run. Stanilious was 2-for-3 in the contest.
Scheeler made the start in the circle for the Blue and Grey and tossed five innings while Bauer pitched one inning with a strikeout.
The Royals, batting as the home team, took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Greyhounds responded with a three-run top of the second to knot the score. Brogan led off the frame with a single before Bieber connected on her first home run of the season and second of her career. DeMarco drew a one-out walk and raced home on an RBI single by Stanilious to tie the game at 3-3.
Scranton scored twice in the bottom of the third for a 5-3 edge.
Moravian tied the game again at 5-5 with two runs in the top of the fourth frame when Scheeler hit a two-out, two-RBI single to score Stanilious and Spilman, who had both drawn walks.
The Hounds took a 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth when Bieber led off with a double down the left field line and scored on an RBI sacrifice fly off of DeMarco's bat.
The Royals, who would go on to defeat third seed Susquehanna University to win the 2019 Landmark Conference title, scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to earn the victory.
