BOX SCORE

Center Valley, PA (May 11, 2011) – Freshman Courtney McKenna singled up the middle to the second baseman and senior Jen Lococo scampered home with the winning run as the DeSales University softball team moved into the ECAC South Region Tournament Final Four with a 2-1 win over PSU-Altoona in eight innings on Wednesday afternoon.

The defending ECAC South Region Champions will now take on the #2 seed Alvernia University, who defeated Marywood University, 5-0. The other two winners were upset victories by the #5 seed Wilson College and the #8 seed Misericordia University, taking out top seed Neumann University. A complete schedule for the double elimination tournament being held at Alvernia University will be available tomorrow with games set to begin on Saturday morning.

The win is the 200th career win for head coach Rachel Turoscy coaching the Bulldogs' and Turoscy's 217th career after she won 17 games as the head coach of Cedar Crest College prior to taking over the position at DeSales.  Turoscy's 200th career win also came this season in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of Misericordia University back on April 2nd.

The Bulldogs (23-13) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when senior Kate Steiner singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Lococo but then DeSales went cold offensively, not registering another hit until the sixth inning, a lead-off double from senior Kristin Schultz.

Altoona (25-14) tied the game in the top of the sixth when Kendra Giedroc was hit by a pitch and later scored on a wild pitch. DeSales had a chance to re-take the lead in the sixth with runners on first and second and one out and again in the seventh when it loaded the bases with no one out but was unable to push the winning run across.

In the eighth, Lococo led off with a single, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from fellow senior Sharon Yudt. Freshman Cassie Wagman was than safe at first when the Lady Lion first baseman dropped a perfect throw from the shortstop and Lococo stayed at second. Sophomore Julie Brugger loaded the bases with a single to left-field and McKenna drove home the winning run with a chopper up the middle that glanced off the second baseman's glove as she tried to make a game-saving play.

Junior Katie Morrissey earned her eighth win of the season, pitching three scoreless innings of relief, striking out five and allowing just one hit. Lococo also pitched well allowing just two hits and one run over five innings, striking out two. Brugger had two hits and Steiner and Lococo each had one hit and scored a run in the win.