WILMINGTON, Del.- The Caldwell University softball team fell short to #3 Wilmington University 7-6 in the Quarterfinals of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Championship.
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The Cougars fall to 20-11-1 overall, while the Wildcats improve to 19-14 and advance to the semifinals on Monday.
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Caldwell jumped out to an early lead as junior
Lauren Stansell (Plantation, Fla.) drew a lead off walk and sophomore
Taylor Mischler (Endicott, N.Y.) doubled to put runners in scoring position. Sophomore
Courtney Grundhauser (Easton, Pa.) and junior
Chloe VanGorder (Harveys Lake, Pa.) hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to put the Cougars ahead 2-0.
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Wilmington answered with a run in their half of the inning to cut the score to 2-1. Caldwell added a run in the third as Mischler singled with two outs and stole second. Grundhauser followed with a single to extend the lead to 3-1.
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The Wildcats rallied with a pair of runs in their half of the inning to pull even at 3-3. Wilmington pushed ahead with a run in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead.
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Caldwell battled back in the fifth as freshman
Gabriella DeLuca (North Smithfield, R.I.) singled with one out and advanced to second on an error. DeLuca moved to third on a single and scored on a Stansell ground out to tie the game at 4-4.
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The Cougars took the lead in the seventh as DeLuca singled with one out and Stansell reached base on a single with two outs. Mischler followed with a two-run double to drive in both runners to put Caldwell ahead 6-4.
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Wilmington rallied in their half of the seventh as they scored three runs to win the game. Â
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Junior
Mariah Culver (Owego, N.Y.) tossed a complete game, allowing seven runs (three earned) on 11 hits, while striking out four to fall to 13-5 on the season.
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The Cougars are currently ranked eighth in the latest NCAA Division II East Region poll with the top six qualifying for the NCAA DII Tournament. Caldwell will await a possible at-large bid to the NCAA DII Tournament with the softball selection show being held on Sunday, May 16 at 10 p.m. and streamed on ncaa.com.
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