Moravian Box Score 
Catholic Box Score

SELINSGROVE, Pa. –  The Susquehanna softball team fell just a few runs shy of forcing a game seven in the Landmark Conference Tournament by falling 7-5 to Catholic in the championship game.

SU (23-16) rallied from a 7-2 deficit against the Cardinals (21-13) to make it a two-run game (7-5) but ran out of innings to complete the comeback.

The Crusaders advanced to the championship game after defeating Moravian (29-8) 8-0 in five innings earlier in the day. In that game, Morgan Lewis (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) gave up just one hit in five scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Leadoff hitter Brianna Murphy (Hazlet, N.J./Mater Dei Prep) went 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored while Lauren Creamer (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

SU got off to a 1-0 lead in the first on Alyssa Cantalini's (Kitchener, Ontario/St. David Catholic Secondary) RBI single to right field that scored Murphy, who had reached on a leadoff single to center.

The second inning saw Susquehanna break out for six runs on seven hits. Anna Heggenstaller (Liverpool, Pa./Greenwood) and Steph Chlebove (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) both drove in runs to start the inning before Murphy came through with a bases-clearing triple. A wild pitch allowed the sixth and final run of the inning to score for a 7-0 ballgame.

The Crusaders tacked on their eighth run when Murphy drove in a run with two outs in the third inning for an 8-0 SU lead.

Lewis retired the Greyhounds in order in the fourth and worked around a leadoff double in the fifth to clinch Susquehanna's spot in the championship game.

Freshman Jamie Fesinstine (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) got the start in the second game for SU. She pitched the first 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on four hits with three walks. Lewis came in to pitch the final 4.2 innings and surrendered four runs on four hits.

Cantalini went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI while Chlebove finished with three hits and two RBI.

The Cardinals opened up a 3-0 lead in the first inning and after loading the bases against Fesinstine in the second, Lewis entered the game in relief and worked out of the jam without giving up a run.

Unfortunately Catholic plated four runs in the bottom of the third with Kristina Lozupone driving in two of those runs with a single to right center. Lozupone went on to be named MVP of the tournament.

SU got back two of those runs in the top of the fourth inning, though, with Chlebove's single driving home both runs. The Crusaders proceeded to score two more runs the very next inning on a two-run homer off the bat of Cantalini that suddenly made it a three-run game (7-4).

In the top of the sixth, a wild pitch allowed Chlebove to score yet another run for a 7-5 ballgame. That remained the score heading into the top of the seventh where SU had its final chances to complete the comeback. Bridget Rafter (Highlands, N.J./Henry Hudson Regional) led off the inning with a walk and Brittany Devlin (Furlong, Pa./Central Bucks East) followed with a single but the next three batters were retired in order.