The Gustavus softball team lost to St. Thomas 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the MIAC Post-Season Tournament which was held in Northfield, Minn. The Gusties had advanced to the title game against the Tommies with a 3-0 win over Saint Mary’s on Saturday morning. Gustavus, which is now 31-9 overall, will wait to hear if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on Monday morning.
In the championship game, the Gusties could manage only two hits against Tommie hurler Maria Bye. St. Thomas scored one run in the second and one in the sixth to claim the 2-0 win. Sophomore second baseman Julie Mahre singled to open the fourth and the Gusties loaded the bases after walks to Audrey Lenoch and Erin Ge, but all three were stranded after Emily Klein grounded out to the pitcher for the third out of the inning. Joyce DeWitz was the losing pitcher for Gustavus. DeWitz scattered six hits, while walking three and striking out eight. The Gusties compiled a record of 1-3 against the #1 rated Tommies this season.
Earlier in the day, the Gusties defeated #3 seed St. Mary’s 3-0 to advance to the final against St. Thomas. Joyce DeWitz turned in the top performance of the day for Gustavus as she held the Cardinals to one hit, while striking out three and walking none. The Gusties jumped out to a 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning when Emily Klein doubled driving in Rachael Click from third base. Gustavus increased the lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Whitney Bartolo and Julie Mahre scored the Gustie runs on two St. Mary’s errors. Gustavus collected four hits in the game one each by Mahre, Click, Klein, and Bartolo.