BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- The Grove City College softball team closed the 2023 season Thursday afternoon by dropping a 7-3 decision to Saint Vincent in the play-in round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference Championship Tournament, held at Geneva College.
Grove City (21-15) trailed 3-0 in the second inning before cutting into the deficit. Junior left fielder
Lauren McNeill (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) led off with a single and later scored when sophomore right fielder
Annika Rinehart (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) singled to right field.
The Wolverines trimmed the lead to 3-2 later in the second inning when senior shortstop
Lexi Buck (Akron, Ohio/Lake Center Christian) scored on a sacrifice fly from senior first baseman
Janessa Dawson (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley).
Saint Vincent took its 3-0 lead by scoring three times with two outs in the first inning. The Bearcats again scored three two-out runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 6-2. Grove City answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth when sophomore second baseman
Maci Linhart (Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana) singled, stole second and scored when sophomore DP
Brooke Brodie (Mogadore, Ohio/Mogadore) singled to left field.
Linhart led Grove City's nine-hit attack by going 3 for 4. Dawson also doubled for the fifth-seeded Wolverines.
Junior pitcher
Kaitlyn Constantino (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) pitched into the seventh inning for the Wolverines. She allowed seven runs in six total innings. Dawson retired all three batters that she faced in the seventh inning.
Sixth-seeded Saint Vincent fell to No. 4 seed Geneva in Thursday's nightcap, 5-3. Geneva advances to the double-elimination portion of the conference tournament, which will be held Friday and Saturday in New Wilmington.
Buck, Dawson, first baseman
Michaela Ban (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong), outfielder
Clare Moran (Watertown, N.Y./Indian River) and catcher
Emily Smyth (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Township) will graduate from the program.
Grove City's 21 wins this year are the most in program history.