QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The Bloomsburg softball team closed out its magical postseason run in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament with a 7-4 loss to No. 4 seed Shippensburg in the championship Saturday afternoon at Veterans Park in Quakertown.
 
The Huskies (25-33, 15-17 PSAC East) entered the tournament as the fifth and final seed from the PSAC East after winning four of their final six regular season games, then the team ran the table during the conference championships by winning its first three games and beating Mercyhurst in an elimination game on Friday to advance to the championship.
 
During the championship, Shippensburg (32-18, 19-13 PSAC East) was able to get out to a 7-0 lead through five innings of play, but Bloomsburg scored four runs in the top of the sixth and was able to load the bases to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. The Raiders, however, got out of the jam and had a one-two-three inning in the top of the seventh to win the PSAC title.
 
Shippensburg's early lead began in the first when Caitlyn Martell hit a two-run homer. The Huskies tried to answer in the top of the second as Alex Iseminger (Everett, Pa./Everett Area) led the inning off with a walk and Mia Nemeth (Drums, Pa/Marian Catholic) singled with one out, but a pair of ground outs ended the inning.
 
The Raiders loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, but Callie Sowers (Irwin, Pa/Hempfield Area) drew a pop fly to right field to end the inning. Shippensburg was then able to load the bases in the third with no outs as it attempted to extend its lead. Sowers again pitched her way out of the jam, but did surrender one run.
 
The Raiders scored their one run in the third on an RBI single to center field, but back-to-back fly outs ended the inning. During the second fly out, a Shippensburg runner tug up from third and appeared to score on the play, but she was ruled out at third base for leaving early on the play following an appeal.
 
The Huskies got one runner on base in the top of the fourth when Emma Little (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn-Trafford) singled to center field with one out. During the next at-bat, Shippensburg was able to draw a pop up to first base and record the second out of the inning. Bartholomew then made solid contact and hit a line drive out to left field, but it was hit right to the Raiders' left fielder and caught for the third out.
 
Bloomsburg made great contact with the ball all day as it finished with just two strikeouts in 28 plate appearances. Some great defensive plays and "at 'em" balls hit by Bloomsburg kept the Huskies off the scoreboard for a majority of the game.
 
Shippensburg hit a three-run homer in the fourth, then an RBI single in the fifth made it a 7-0 game.
 
Needing to score in a hurry, Bloomsburg was able to respond quickly with its huge four-run sixth inning.
 
Bella Culp (Harrisburg, Pa/Central Dauphin) led the inning off with a single up the middle, then Iseminger singled to center field to put two runners on with one out. A fly out to center field gave Shippensburg its second out of the inning, but an error during the next at-bat kept the inning alive as Nemeth reached first base safely and Culp scored from third.
 
Bartholomew then knocked in the second run of the inning on an RBI single to left field, and pinch hitter Kammy Kropinski (Conshohocken, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh) walked during the next at-bat to load the bases. Following a pitching change, Kayleigh Lenner (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) drew another walk to score the third run of the inning.
 
With the bases still loaded, Weidlich was hit by a pitch to allow another run to score. Culp, who represented the go-ahead run at the plate, then drilled a ball out to center field during her second at-bat of the inning, but a highlight reel play was made in the outfield by Shippensburg's Taylor Myers. On the hard-hit ball, Myers was able to snag the ball at the warning track and hung on to the catch after slamming into the fence to end the inning.
 
Bloomsburg's Kelly Eberly (Purcellville, Va/Homeschooled) pitched a scoreless sixth inning to keep the deficit to just three heading into the final inning. Shippensburg's Emma Flattery, who was the third pitcher used by the Raiders on Saturday, was able to retire the Huskies in order to close out the game.
 
Culp finished the day with a team-high two hits by going 2-for-4 with a double. Four other Huskies recorded singles to bring the team's total to six. Iseminger was 1-for-3 with a walk and run scored, and Little had a single. Nemeth and Bartholomew both went 1-for-3, and Lenner had an RBI while also walking twice.
 
In the circle, Sowers finished with three strikeouts in three innings and was given the loss. Eberly allowed just one run on two hits during her three innings in relief. The two pitchers combined to strand a total of 11 Shippensburg baserunners with some clutch pitching. 
 
The postseason run caps off the 2023 season for a Bloomsburg team that finished the year 25-33 (15-17 PSAC East) and did not have a senior on its roster.