NEED TO KNOW:
Score: (#8) DePauw 3, (#14) Piedmont 2
Records:  Piedmont (31-11); DePauw (34-10)
 
GREENCASTLE, Ind. – Another successful season came to an end on Saturday afternoon for the Piedmont University softball team as the Lady Lions fell 3-2 to the DePauw Tigers at the NCAA Regional Tournament.  
 
The Lady Lions went 0-2 at this year's Greencastle Regional for an unfortunate early exit from the NCAA Division III Tournament. It's the second time this season that Piedmont has lost to DePauw in a one-run contest as the Tigers were ranked No. 1 in the first meeting on March 6. 

Piedmont won 31 games in the 2022 season, which is just the sixth time in program history that the team has earned 30 or more wins.
 
Piedmont's stellar season also included a 15-1 regular season conference record that was tops in the USA South and was just a precursor to a second straight USA South Tournament Championship.
 
In a must-win situation on Saturday, Piedmont manufactured an early run in the first inning as KAITLIN ISLEY reached on a one-out single before swiping both second and third in the next at-bat.
 
Those stolen bases set up an RBI groundout from KARA TAYLOR to give the Lady Lions their first lead of the weekend.
 
That lead was short lived for Piedmont as the eighth-ranked Tigers jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the bottom half. A pair of singles and an infield error for Piedmont led to the Tigers taking their first lead of the game.
 
Isley and Taylor made things happen again in the third inning as Isley reached on an error and took second before the play ended. After stealing third for the second time in the game, Taylor's deep sacrifice fly to left field brought her home to knot the game at 2-2.
 
The back-and-forth affair continued in the bottom of the third as DePauw used a delayed double steal to bring Grace Smith home from third and push across the go-ahead run.
 
That go-ahead run in the third wound up being the winning run as neither side managed to score past that point as both Piedmont's EMMA MCBRAYER and DePauw's Kandra Butcher locked down the opposing lineups from that point on.
 
After leaving nine runners on base on Friday versus Hiram, the Lady Lions again struggled to produce runs on Saturday as eight runners were stranded, including three in the second and two in the sixth.
 
Piedmont will enter the 2023 season looking to earn its fourth straight trip to the NCAA National Tournament, but will still be eyeing its first ever trip to the super-regionals.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW:
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