DALLAS, PA (May 8, 2021) -- The King's College softball team completed their exciting 2021 season on Saturday as they fell to the top-seeded Misericordia University Cougars in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) Semifinals at Anderson Field. The Monarchs dropped a close game one, 3-0, before falling in game two, 6-1, to finish their season 20-12 overall.

Game 1 (L, 0-3):
Misericordia (23-4) took the early lead as they scored a run in each of the first three innings of play. The Cougars saw the first run cross in the bottom of the first on an RBI double to left center from Nicole Elliott to lead, 1-0, over the visiting Monarchs. Then a King's error added to the Cougars lead in the bottom of the second, 2-0, before tacking on the final run of the game in the bottom of the third from a double down the left-field line from Kaitlin Redling, for the final insurance run of the game. Just eight base runners reached safely over the final innings of play as Misericordia took game one, 3-0.

Sophomore Gabrielle Visconti led the Monarchs offense with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, while junior Lindsey Leppo added the other hit for King's in the opener. Graduate student Kris Kocher recorded the loss in the circle, pitching all six innings and giving up just two earned runs on six hits and striking out four.

Redling went a perfect 2-for-2 with a double, a run, and an RBI for the hosts. Alexa McHugh went the distance with the complete-game shutout and giving up just three hits in the game.

Game 2 (L, 1-6):
The Cougars controlled the game the entire way, plating two runs in the bottom of the second on back-to-back singles to center field from Antonia Pacillo and McHugh, taking the early 2-0 lead. Misericordia scored twice in the bottom of the third thanks to a two-RBI single through the right side from Brianna Holder, and a King's fielding error tacked on two more for the hosts in the bottom of the fourth as the Cougars held a 6-0 lead after four innings of play.

The Monarchs offense found its spark in the top of the fifth after a leadoff single up the middle from senior Gabriella Medina before she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Leppo singled to third base and then stole second to put two runners in scoring position. First year Kiersten Krouse kept things going with a single to the pitcher to load the bases with one out before senior Mindina Lieback drove in the lone run of the afternoon, as King's trailed 6-1.

Both teams were solid defensively over the final stretch as there were just three hits recorded in the final innings of play as Misericordia secured the semifinal win, 6-1, over the Monarchs.

Krouse, Visconti, Medina, Leppo, and sophomore Bailey Loyack recorded all five of the Monarchs hits in game two, and Krouse and Leppo added stolen bases. First year Brandi McIntosh recorded the loss as the King's starter, pitching 3.0 innings and giving up four earned runs on nine hits. Kocher pitched three solid innings in relief, allowing just three hits and striking out four.

Megan Fenstermaker led the Cougars with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, and Holder drove in a team-high two RBIs in the win. Emily Wenner earned the win in relief, tossing the final four innings of play and giving up one run on three hits.