SPARTANBURG, SC. – The Monroe University softball team's season came to a close on Saturday afternoon as they defeated No. 2 seeded Florence-Darlington Technical College 5-3 in the loser's bracket final but then fell to No. 1 seeded Gaston College 6-1 in the championship round.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Game 1)
·     The Mustangs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Gabriella Pugliese and a two-RBI single to center field by Sophia Davis.
·     In the bottom of the first inning, the Stingers countered with a two-run home run to left field to cut the Mustangs' lead to 3-2.
·     In the top of the second inning, an error by the pitcher scored in a run for the Mustangs to give them a 4-2 lead.
·     Then in the top of the fifth inning, an RBI single to right field by Pugliese gave the Mustangs a 5-2 lead.
·     The Stingers only added one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI ground out, resulting in the Mustangs' 5-3 victory.
Game 2
·     Gaston took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI triple and an RBI ground out.
·     In the bottom of the second inning, the Rhinos added two more runs on an error by the shortstop and an RBI single to take a 4-0 lead.
·     Then in the top of the third inning, Kerris Johnson ripped an RBI single to left field to cut the Rhino's lead to 4-1.
·     In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Rhinos sealed the victory after they scored a pair of runs on a bases-loaded hit by pitch and an error by the third baseman, resulting in a 6-1 loss.
STATS AND NOTES
·     The Mustangs ended the season with their fourth straight 20-plus win season, going 27-22 on the year.
·     Four Mustangs finished the season with an above .400 batting average (Johnson, Reese Surratt, Pugliese, and Lizbeth Zambrano).
·     Kelsea Bauer finishes her Mustangs career with 59 strikeouts and a record of 11-1 in 114.1 innings pitched.
·     Reese Surratt finished the season with a career-high 70 hits, two doubles, one home run, and 20 RBIs on the year.
