First NCAA Tournament appearance for Siena softball ends with loss to Saint Francis
Siena softball acquitted itself quite well for the second straight day in its NCAA Tournament debut, but the Saints came out on the short end of a pitchers’ duel in a 1-0 setback to Saint Francis (PA) in an Austin Regional Elimination Game at Red & Charline McCombs Field Saturday.
AUSTIN, TEXAS (NEWS10) -- Siena softball acquitted itself quite well for the second straight day in its NCAA Tournament debut, but the Saints came out on the short end of a pitchers’ duel in a 1-0 setback to Saint Francis (PA) in an Austin Regional elimination game at Red & Charline McCombs Field Saturday.
Saint Francis (41-13) opened the fourth inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners, and Rachel Marsden followed with an RBI groundout which proved to be the decisive run for the Red Flash who won for the 27th time in their past 29 games.
Grace Vesco, who entered the Regional as the national leader in fewest hits allowed per-seven innings (2.93) and ranked third with 1.11 earned run average, tossed a complete game three-hit shutout. She also hit three batters and walked four more, but struck out 10 in a yeomanlike 137-pitch effort.
Alissa Eimont battled Vesco pitch-for-pitch in a stellar pitchers’ duel on an afternoon where the mercury reached the mid 90’s in the Lone Star State. Eimont, who threw every pitch the past six Siena (33-22) games spanning the entirety of both the MAAC and NCAA Tournament, went the distance yet again in another fabulous performance. The MAAC Tournament MVP scattered just six hits and the one run while walking only one and striking out a pair.
The Saints had their chances offensively despite not recording their first NCAA Tournament hit until an Isabella Pardo infield single with two outs in the fifth. Siena, which stranded 10 runners total – seven of which came over the final three innings – had their best chance in that fifth. Three straight Saints reached after two were out, but Olivia Ulam backhanded a sharply hit groundball to first and won the race to the bag to quell the rally.
The Saints started another two-out rally in their final at-bat – putting a pair on in the seventh – but Vesco recorded her final strikeout as Saint Francis edged Siena for the third time this season. The Red Flash previously defeated the Saints by scores of 4-1 and 4-3 during the first week of the season at the CSU Kickoff in South Carolina.
Chloe Cummings and Madi Silber joined Pardo in recording the other two Siena hits. Silber reached base safely in all three plate appearances, while McKenzie Swinson got aboard twice on a pair of hit batsmen and swiped a pair of bags.
Saint Francis advanced to a second Austin Regional Elimination Game with the win, where they ended up falling to 25th ranked Northwestern for a second straight day by a score of 5-1.
Siena puts a bow on an historic 2024 season which saw the Saints set a program record for wins for a third straight year with 33 victories, culminating in the first MAAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Regional appearance. The future of Siena softball is arguably the brightest its been for a program which has been on a precipitous rise for more than a decade. The Saints finally reached the promised land this spring –, getting their first taste of an NCAA Tournament – and it’s all gas no brakes from here.