NEED TO KNOW:
Game 1 Score: Piedmont 7, Linfield 5
Game 2 Score: UW-Oshkosh 6, Piedmont 1
Record: Piedmont, 25-13; Linfield, 38-9; UW-Oshkosh, 28-11
 
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Piedmont College's softball team won its third straight win-or-go-home game on Sunday morning at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire regional tournament but fell to UW-Oshkosh in the tournament finale to conclude a spectacular run and a memorable 2021 spring season.
 
The Lions beat No. 11 Linfield University 7-5 in game one on Sunday morning to advance to the championship match-up with the UW-Oshkosh Titans, but fell 6-1 in the first and deciding game. Had Piedmont won, the Lions and Titans would have had to play one additional game to decide the regional championship.
 
Despite the efforts falling short, the Lions' run to the final game on Sunday was a phenomenal display of will and determination after the Piedmont squad was shutout in a one-hitter in its first game of the regional by Alfred University.
 
The fifth-seeded Lions won each of their next three games while facing elimination to remain alive, falling just two wins shy of reaching the NCAA Division III National Championship final site in Salem, Virginia. Piedmont, the USA South Tournament Champion and the USA South West Division Regular Season Champion, finishes the spring 2021 season at 25-13 overall.
 
After the tournament, junior outfielder KATELYN PERRY, sophomore third baseman Kaitlin Isely, and freshman pitcher/designated player EMMA MCBRAYER were named to the All-Tournament team.
 
Game 1: Piedmont 7, Linfield 5
 
The Wildcats jumped on McBrayer, Piedmont's game one starter, early with a run in the first inning on an RBI groundout from Jenny Ball, which set the tone for an offense-heavy game on Sunday morning.
 
Piedmont responded right back in the bottom half with a pair of runs on a two-RBI single from KARA TAYLOR that was set up by a pair of hits, a fielder's choice, and a hit batter.
 
Isley and Perry accounted for the two hits that preceded Taylor's knock, and the duo struck again in the next half-inning with two outs as Isley singled home REBEKAH STEGMAYER before a two-RBI home run from Perry gave the Lions a 5-1 lead after two innings.
 
The two teams traded runs in the fourth inning as Isley again accounted for Piedmont's RBI as she singled to the right side to score Stegmayer again.
 
The Wildcats didn't go away quietly and instead fought back with a three-run top of the fifth inning to chase McBrayer from the game and make it a one-run ball game.
 
After a pair of walks started the frame, McBrayer would later allow back-to-back RBI hits from Kaily Paul and Ball before hitting Kamryn Mobely with a pitch. That would end McBrayer's day as MARTINA MALOCH came on in relief but allowed an RBI double from Katrina Johns before getting out of the inning with a one-run lead.
 
The Lions would add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning as Maloch dazzled to finish off the game, allowing just one Wildcat baserunner in the final two frames to hold on to the 7-5 victory and send the Lions to the final match-up with UW-Oshkosh.
 
Game 2: UW-Oshkosh 6, Piedmont 1
 
Maloch started game two in the circle for the Lions and worked a clean first inning before allowing the first run of the game for the Titans on an RBI sac fly from Natalie Dudek.
 
Maloch allowed a pair of doubles from Amanda Mc Ilhany and Acacia Tupa to start the third, ending her outing as the Lions opted for MADISON WHITESIDE. Whiteside allowed one run to come home on a sac fly (charged to Maloch) before getting the Lions out of the third with a three-run deficit.
 
Piedmont struggled at the plate as Titans' starter Maddie Fink had the Lions' number all game long. Through five innings, Piedmont had just one hit and had only managed to put three runners on base.
 
With everything going right for the Titans, they blew their lead open in the bottom of the fifth inning as four hits and a pair of Piedmont errors contributed to a three-run inning that saw the lead increase to 6-0.
 
The Lions got a run back in the top of the sixth as hits from DREW GRAHAM and Stegmayer led to a run coming home on a throwing error on a groundball from Isely, but Fink managed to retire the heart of the Lions' order with three fly ball outs to end the only real threat Piedmont could muster in the game.
 
Piedmont went 1-2-3 in the final inning to finish out the season and complete the UW-Eau Claire regional as the runner-up.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
 - KAITLIN ISLEY went 3-for-4 in game one and accounted for two RBIs and a run scored. She finished the regional 6-for-15 overall with five RBIs and five runs.
- KATELYN PERRY was 2-for-3 with two runs and her two-RBI home run versus Linfield. She went a combined 7-for-15 in the tournament with five RBIs and five runs.
- DREW GRAHAM had just two hits on the season entering the tournament but went 2-for-2 and scored Piedmont's lone run versus UW-Oshkosh.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
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