LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Felician College softball team temporarily staved off elimination from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament with a come-from-behind 10-2, six-inning victory over No. 8 seed Holy Family University on Friday afternoon on the campus of Georgian Court University. But later on Friday, Felician could not hold off a relentless Post University offense, falling to the No. 5 seeded Eagles, 11-8, in the losers' bracket semifinal.

Felician, the event's No. 7 seed, completes its season with a won-lost record of 18-34, improving by four victories over its 2011 total. The Golden Falcons won 10 of their final 13 contests. Their fourth place finish in the CACC Tournament was the program's best showing since 2007, when they also finished fourth.

Against Holy Family, Felician pitcher Kristen Tenwolde (Ramona, CA) surrendered two unearned runs in the top of the third inning. But the Golden Falcons responded with a three-spot in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Alyssa Banca (East Rutherford, NJ) tied the score with her first career home run, a two-run shot with none out. Taylor Parker (Surrey, B.C.) added a go-ahead RBI single later in the inning.

Tenwolde gave way to freshman right-hander Macy Chase (Sacramento, CA) (6-8), who tossed three innings of hitless relief for the victory. It remained a one-run contest until the bottom of the sixth, when the Golden Falcons exploded for seven runs on seven hits. Banca had two hits in the inning, including the game-ending RBI single. Zharde Sellona (Aliso Viejo, CA) and Ciera Clark (Granite Bay, CA) each recorded two-run doubles.

Felician out-hit the Tigers, 15-4. Clark and Banca each turned in 3-for-4 performances, and Parker had a pair of RBI. The victory set-up a match-up with Post, who was coming off knocking out No. 3 seed and tournament host Georgian Court, 8-1.

The Eagle hitters picked up where they had left off against the Lions, jumping out to a 7-1 lead after three innings off of Felician starter Chase and reliever Tori Bradburn (Ridge, MD) (1-7). Four of the runs were rendered unearned due to two Felician errors in the second.

But the Golden Falcons embarked on a spirited comeback, scoring five times in the top of the fourth. Sellona and Parker had two-run singles in the frame, and in between, Clark was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The next inning, Felician knotted things at 7-7 when pinch-runner Natalie Quintanilla (Hasbrouck Heights, NJ) scored on a throwing error.

But the potent Post bats struck again in the sixth, reaching Bradburn and Tenwolde for four runs on six hits. A two-run triple by Samantha Pagano (Marlboro, NY) with no one out put the Eagles ahead for good and ended Bradburn's day. But Lianna May (King Ferry, NY) and Stephanie DeMartino (Staten Island, NY) followed with run-scoring singles.

Once again, Felician did not go down quietly, putting its first two runners on base in the seventh. Following a wild pitch, Post reliever Johanna Rice (Glendale, NY) then surrendered a run-scoring groundout to Sellona, but otherwise negotiated the middle of the Golden Falcon line-up to help her team advance and end the championship hopes for Felician.

The teams combined for 25 hits. DeMartino (3 RBI) and Cassidie Ern (Hope Valley, RI) collected three hits apiece for the Eagles. Parker went 3 for 3 with three RBI to help Felician stay in contention, and Sellona also drove in three runs. Banca was 2 for 3 and scored twice to complete a 5 for 7 afternoon.

Felician hit .385 during the CACC playoffs, scoring 28 runs during its four-game run in the tournament.

Complete tournament results can be viewed at http://www.caccathletics.org/sports/sball/2011-12/releases/2012SoftballPreview.