Box Score BRIDGEPORT, CT – Felician Softball sat as the fifth seed going into the first round of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference playoffs Monday afternoon. The green-and-gold faced #4 University of Bridgeport where they needed to win two in order to advance to the next round.
The Golden Falcons held a 2-1 lead after five innings until the Purple Knights rallied four in the bottom of the sixth to hand Felician the 5-2 defeat.
To ignite the playoffs, Bridgeport got on the board early with a run after one. Fast forward to the fifth inning, Vienna Chierchia (Manalapan, NJ) placed herself on second after slamming her 21st double of the season, the most in her career and first in the Felician record book. With a runner in scoring position, Mariah Castellanos (Las Vegas, NV) recorded an RBI single for the squads first run of the afternoon.
Kathryn Steinmetz (Chula Vista, CA) pinched hit for a single to eventually steal second for two more Felician baserunners for Johanna Rivera (Cliffside Park, NJ). Rivera reached first on a fielder's choice, but recorded the RBI when Castellanos reached home for the 2-2 tie.
After an aggressive inning, the Golden Falcons couldn't halt the Purple Knights as the hosts rallied four runs to hold the 5-2 lead for the win after shutting out Felician in the final frame.
Mikayla Brown (Las Vegas, NV) went 2-3 while Castellanos and Chierchia went 1-3 with one run.
The Golden Falcons finished its record-breaking season with a 31-19 overall and 15-9 CACC record. Throughout the season, the squad had four hitters secure their 100th career hit while Riley Williams (Corona, CA) broke the single season win record and 100 strikeouts as a freshman.
