KEUKA PARK, N.Y. - The Wildcat softball season came to an end on Saturday after an early exit from the NEAC Softball Championship Tournament. The Wildcats lost to Penn State Abington 8-0 on Friday and to Wilson on Sunday 4-2.
The Wildcats lost on day one to a tough Penn State Abington team by a score of 8-0. The Wildcats were shut down by the Nittany Lions pitcher Becca Dougherty. Dougherty threw a gem, allowing just two hits and striking out eight. The Wildcats struggled in the field, committing four errors leading to five unearned runs. Wildcat pitcher Fallon Reinold (Holland Patent, N.Y.) threw six innings allowing three earned runs and striking out four. The Wildcats two hits in the game came on singles by Leah Segerlin (Webster, N.Y.) and Taylor Hines (Mechanicsville, N.Y.).
On day two, the Wildcats faced Wilson in a win and advance game. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, they came up short of the win and were eliminated from the tournament. The Phoenix of Wilson College took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on two rare walks with the bases loaded by Fallon Reinold. Wilson would tack on one more in the top of the third on a solo homerun that would ultimately seal the deal.
The Wildcats plated their first run of the weekend in the bottom of the fifth when Reinold knocked a double in the left-centerfield gap to score Hannah Wasco (Rome, N.Y.) from second making it a 3-1 ball game. After a run in the top of the seventh, the Wildcats gave Wilson a run for their money in the bottom of the frame. After three consecutive singles loaded the bases for the Wildcats, Danielle Witchley (New Hartford, N.Y.) drove home a run on a single up the middle that scored Reinold and made it a two run ball game. Despite the Wildcats best efforts, the Phoenix were able to shut the door on the game, advancing to the next round of the tournament and sending the Wildcats back to Marcy.
This season was a solid one for the Wildcats. The team finished 12-6 in the NEAC, securing a second place finish in the North Division. As a team the Wildcats hit .306 in conference play, had a .378 on base percentage, and a .410 Slugging percentage; all very respectable numbers offensively. The Wildcats had an impressive 2.36 ERA in Conference play and had a total of 168 strikeouts in 202 innings this season. The team received a total of five All-Conference Selections and had the NEAC Pitcher of the Year/Player of the Year on their roster; Fallon Reinold. The Wildcats will look to continue their recent success, building on the strength of their roster in pursuit of a NEAC Championship in 2017.