Box Score Salem, VA - The Piedmont College softball team fell just shy of a trip to Wisconsin to play for a national championship earlier this afternoon as the Lady Lions were defeated for the second time by the top seeded Salisbury University at the 2013 Salem Regional.  The Seagulls picked up another quality pitching performance as Piedmont was unable to get their runners home in an 8-0 loss to the Salem Regional champions.

The Seagulls wasted little time getting on the board though Piedmont looked to be cruising in the early going.  After the Lady Lions picked up two quick outs, a Salisbury single put one runner on with two gone, a factor that the country's top ranked team would make the girls from Georgia pay for.

The next Seagull batter drove a ball deep to center that carried over the head of Taylor Morgan and the fence at Moyer.  That two-out homer would be the difference between the two for most of the day.

In each of the first four innings for Piedmont at the bat, the Lady Lions would get a runner on base.  However, each of those four innings, the runner reached with two outs not giving the Lady Lions much room for error against one of the country's top pitchers.

Through four complete, the youngster in the circle for Piedmont, Jordin Ellingson, was settled after a bit of a bumpy start in the first.  Two of Salisbury's three hits through four came in the first alone, one on that two-out, two run homer that accounted for the margin through more than half of the game.

From that point on however, Ellingson sat down the next eight batters she faced as she held the potent Seagulls to 1 hit over the next four innings after a productive first.

In the Piedmont half of the fifth, the Lady Lions threatened once more after Megan McClain's 1-out hit to left gave PC a base runner with less than two outs for the first time in the morning.

Freshman Olivia Duncan drew a 2-out walk to give Piedmont a pair of threats on the bags, but the Lady Lions would be stranded once again.  Through five complete with little production at the plate, Piedmont still trailed only by a pair of runs in Salem.

With no outs and the bases loaded for Salisbury in the top of the 6th, the Seagulls showed why they hold Division III's top ranking picking up four runs to make the most of their chances.  Now trailing 6-0, Piedmont faced a tall task trying to come back from a half dozen against a tough Salisbury pitcher in Rachel Johnson.

In the home half of the 6th, Piedmont again put a runner on with two outs but could not get a score out of the chance. Salisbury seemed to have PC's number throughout the tournament though picking up two shutouts over the team from down South who had been shutout only one other time in 2013.

Another pair of scores for Salisbury in the top of the final inning extended the advantage to 8-0 for the Seagulls.  The eight-run margin was also the final score as well as Piedmont was eliminated from NCAA postseason play with their second loss, both of which came at the hands of the #1 ranked team in the country, Salisbury University.

A trio of Lady Lions earned All-Tournament honors at the 2013 Salem Regional including senior first baseman Megan Kesler, junior pitcher Brittney Head, and freshman catcher Olivia Duncan.  Kesler was six for 15 with several key plays for Piedmont at the plate sparking several of PC's scoring innings including a game-winning hit against #4 Emory just yesterday afternoon. 

Head was also a pick for the honor tossing over 12 innings and allowing just a trio of earned runs as she was in the circle for Piedmont's first win of the tourney over 19th ranked Lynchburg.  The catcher Duncan made a splash in her NCAA debut going seven for 11 at the plate with four RBIs, 3 runs scored, a pair of doubles, and five walks as not many opposing pitchers enjoyed watching her walk up to the plate.

For Piedmont softball, their magical run comes to an end as Salisbury will move on to the final eight in Wisconsin.  The Lady Lions finish 2013 with a 34-10 overall record going 3-2 at the Salem Regional.  PC's trip to the regional final this season is the second time in as many appearances that the Lady Lions have reached the regional championship game in an NCAA National Tournament.