Saint Vincent logs three wins Friday to claim PAC title

Saint Vincent logs three wins Friday to claim PAC title

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PAC All-Tournament Team
LATROBE, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--Saint Vincent College earned three-straight victories Friday to claim this year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Softball Championship Tournament title.

This year's four-team, double-elimination tournament was hosted by top-seeded Saint Vincent (29-14). The PAC title is Saint Vincent's second (2016). This was Saint Vincent's first time hosting the league championship tournament since 2012. 

After being dealt a 3-0 loss by second-seeded Thiel College (19-25) to end play on Thursday, Saint Vincent claimed a 4-0 win over third-seeded Westminster College (19-18) to get things going Friday in the day's first elimination game. The Bearcats secured a 7-0 win over Thiel to force the winner-take-all "if necessary game", which they won by a 7-4 score.

Friday marked the fourth time since 2014 that the championship tournament winner was forced to earn a victory in the if necessary game to capture the league title. 

Following the conclusion of play Friday, Saint Vincent freshman pitcher freshman Celia Knappenberger (Sarver, Pa. | Knoch) was recognized as the PAC Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Performer. She went 3-1 (4 starts) with a save and posted a 0.93 earned-run average during the two-day tournament.  

As the winner of this year's championship tournament, Saint Vincent secured the league's automatic qualifying bid (Pool A) to the NCAA Division III Championship, with regional play scheduled to begin Thursday-Sunday, May 9-11. Team and site selections for the Division III Softball Championship will be announced at 1 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 6 and streamed on ncaa.com.
 
Friday, May 3 | Game G
Latrobe, Pa.
(2) Thiel at (1) Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent 7, Thiel 4 Box score
Saint Vincent battled back from a pair of early deficits to claim its second PAC Championship Tournament title. Sophomore Riley Assalone (Falls Creek, Pa. | DuBois Central Catholic) went 4.0 innings to secure the win in the circle, allowing four runs (2 earned) on six hits with a pair of walks. She also went 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored. Freshman Celia Knappenberger (Sarver, Pa. | Knoch) cruised through the final 3.0 innings to earn the save, giving up just one hit, a leadoff single from freshman Megan Hepler (West Sunbury, Pa. | Moniteau), in the sixth. Freshman Kelsey Tobin (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield Area) keyed Saint Vincent's four-run fourth inning with a two-run single. Sophomore Allyssa Kidwell (Fort Mohave, Ariz. | Mohave Accelerated) and junior Leah Woytek (Hillsville, Pa. | Mohawk) had run-scoring hits for Thiel in its two-run fourth inning, which gave them a 4-3 lead.
 
Friday, May 3 | Game F
Latrobe, Pa.
(2) Thiel at (1) Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent 7, Thiel 0 Box score
Sophomore Shae Robson (Tarentum, Pa. | Deer Lakes) helped Saint Vincent keep its title hopes alive after finishing 2-for-3 a double, triple and four RBIs in the elimination game victory over Westminster. Sophomore Lauren Miller (Glenshaw, Pa. | Shaler) went 3-for-4 with a double, a RBI and a run scored. Freshman Celia Knappenberger (Sarver, Pa. | Knoch) went 6.0 innings to earn the win, her 16th of the season. She yielded five hits and a walk while fanning five. Sophomore Riley Assalone (Falls Creek, Pa. | DuBois Central Catholic) threw a scoreless seventh inning for the Bearcats. Junior Leah Woytek (Hillsville, Pa. | Mohawk) and junior Vanessa Falce (McKeesport, Pa. | McKeesport) each had a pair of hits for the Tomcats. 
 
Friday, May 3 | Game E
Latrobe, Pa.
(3) Westminster at (1) Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent 4, Westminster 0 Box score
Saint Vincent punched its ticket to the title round thanks to a complete-game shutout by freshman Celia Knappenberger (Sarver, Pa. | Knoch). In the elimination game she limited Westminster to just five hits while walking a pair and striking out five. Saint Vincent rattled off three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth. Sophomore Johnna Karas (North Huntingdon, Pa. | Nowin) finished 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Senior Kelly Flaherty (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Brashear) went 2-for-3. Sophomore Haley Bedalota (Aliquippa, Pa. | Hopewell) and first-year Jasmine Woodings (Verona, Pa. | Penn Hills) both had two hits for Westminster.
 
Thursday, May 2 | Game D
Latrobe, Pa.
(2) Thiel at (1) Saint Vincent
Thiel 3, Saint Vincent 0 Box score
Senior Jessica Kelley (Freeport, Pa. | Freeport) put Thiel in position to claim the program’s first-ever PAC title with an outstanding performance Wednesday afternoon against Saint Vincent. She fired a four-hit shutout while striking out one and walking one. Nursing a 1-0 lead, the Tomcats scored a pair in the top of the seventh on a RBI double by junior Leah Woytek (Hillsville, Pa. | Mohawk) and run-scoring single by junior Vanessa Falce (McKeesport, Pa. | McKeesport). Senior Miranda Reesman (Vandergrift, Pa. | Leechburg) finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Freshman Kelsey Tobin (Greensburg, Pa. | Hempfield Area) had a pair of hits for Saint Vincent. 
 
Thursday, May 2 | Game C
Latrobe, Pa.
(4) Geneva vs. (3) Westminster
Westminster 3, Geneva 2 Box score
Back-to-back run-producing hits by sophomore Alexis Brinza (McKees Rocks, Pa. | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) and first-year Krystyna Burdelski (Pittsburgh, Pa. | Fox Chapel) in the bottom of the second pushed Westminster ahead 2-0 over Geneva in the day’s first elimination game. Geneva plated a pair of runs on three hits, including an RBI single from freshman Sarah Johnson (Highland Ranch, Colo. | Mountain Vista), in the fifth inning to even the score at 2-2. In the bottom of the sixth, Brinza drilled a one-out RBI single that scored first-year Jasmine Woodings (Verona, Pa. | Penn Hills) to give Westminster a 3-2 lead. First-year Madison Brown (Lisbon, Ohio | East Liverpool) allowed two runs (1 earned) on five hits with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings to earn the win. Brinza and Burdeslki each finished with a pair of hits.  
 
Thursday, May 2 | Game B
Latrobe, Pa.
(4) Geneva at (1) Saint Vincent
Saint Vincent 6, Geneva 2 Box score
Freshman Celia Knappenberger (Sarver, Pa. | Knoch) was terrific for the host Bearcats in Wednesday’s opening win over Geneva, She allowed two runs (1 earned) on eight hits with a walk to secure her 14th victory of the season. Senior Kelly Flaherty stroked a two-out, two-run single in the fourth to get the Bearcats on the board. After Geneva evened things up at 2-2 in the top of the sixth, Saint Vincent responded with four scores in the seventh. Sophomore Riley Assalone (Falls Creek, Pa. | DuBois Central Catholic) went 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and a pair of runs scored. Junior Haley Sainato (New Castle, Pa. | Mohawk) led Geneva at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. 
 
Thursday, May 2 | Game A
Latrobe, Pa.
(3) Westminster vs. (2) Thiel
Thiel 2, Westminster 1 Box score
Thiel got off to a strong start Thursday as the program claimed its first championship tournament opening-round victory since 2003, when No. 6 Thiel scored a come-from-behind 4-3 upset win at No. 3 Grove City on April 23. The Tomcats scored both of their runs in the first inning. Senior Jessica Kelley (Freeport, Pa. | Freeport) drove in the first run of the game on a single to center field. Sophomore Bailey Hoover (Smock, Pa. | Uniontown) later plated Kelley with a two-out, RBI single down the right field line. Kelley also earned the win in the circle, allowing one earned run on four hits with a strikeout in 7.0 innings. Hoover went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI. Sophomore Haley Bedalota (Aliquippa, Pa. | Hopewell) went 2-for-3 with a triple and a run scored for Westminster.