Softball Sees Historic Season End in NCAA Regional Final

EWING, N.J. – Arcadia softball saw its season come to an abrupt end Monday morning in the Ewing Regional of the NCAA Tournament on the campus of The College of the New Jersey.

The No. 3 seeded Knights (2-1) were set to face second-seeded Randolph-Macon (2-0) in the Regional Final, with AU needing to win twice to advance. After having already been rained out Sunday, the teams were set to meet at 9 a.m. Monday morning, with an "if necessary" game to be played immediately afterwards.

With the rain still coming down heavily, bad weather in the forecast all day, and unplayable field conditions, the decision was made to end the Ewing Regional and advance Randolph-Macon due to its 2-0 record in the Regional, subsequently ending Arcadia's historic season.

On the way to the NCAA Tournament, the Knights ran through the regular season in the MAC Commonwealth, posting a 13-3 conference record and earning the No. 1 seed in the postseason tournament. In the conference tournament, the Knights posted three straight shutouts en route to the first MAC title in program history and first ever berth into the NCAA Tournament. Kylee Schwind took home Tournament MVP honors after tossing three shutouts. In 21.0 innings pitched, she gave up just eight hits and struck out 21, running her season total of shutouts to 7-0.

Success followed AU into awards season as seven players were recognized by the conference, including Jackie Bilotti, who was named the MAC Commonwealth Player of the Year for the third straight year, in addition to being named the Rookie of the Year her freshman year. Bilotti is the only player in conference history to accomplish such a feat. Bilotti wasn't the only Knight to take home a major award as Mary Pat Murray was named the league's Pitcher of the Year.

In addition to all-conference accolades, both Bilotti and Murray were named to the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District Team. It's the third time that Bilotti has made the team and the first time that the softball team has featured a pair of players recognized in the same season.

Next up was the Ewing Regional where offense was hard to find as every game in the Regional ended in a shut-out. Arcadia dropped its first contest against Randolph-Macon on Friday, 1-0. The Knights offense was stifled as the Yellow Jackets pitcher, Candace Whittemore, only allowed two hits and one walk while striking out 13 over 7.0 innings.

Arcadia then entered the loser's bracket where they faced the host, No. 9 TCNJ, who was upset in its first round game. AU proceeded to knock out the Lions with a 3-0 win on the arm of Schwind, who spun all 7.0 innings, allowing three hits and one walk with three strikeouts, to keep the Knights alive. The win was the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

Immediately following the TCNJ victory, the Scarlet & Grey were right back on the field versus Mount Aloysius for a chance to go to the Regional Final. This time it was Murray who was in the circle for the first time since April 30. The junior was outstanding as she went the distance, surrendering six hits and striking out eight, in a 4-0 win, setting up a date with Randolph-Macon in the Regional Final.

The Knights date with the Yellow Jackets never came as the game was washed out, thus ending Arcadia's season. Three Knights were named to the All-Tournament team in Bilotti, Murray and Schwind. Whittemore from Randolph-Macon was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Arcadia's run into the NCAA Tournament saw the squad win its most games (33) since 2006 when the team tallied 34 victories. It also marks the end of the softball careers for three seniors: Bilotti, Kristin Cancelliere and Kayla Resh.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Mary Pat Murray: P; 5' 7"; Junior; R/R

#23 Jackie Bilotti: SS; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#4 Kristin Cancelliere: OF; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#2 Kayla Resh: OF/P; 4' 11"; Senior; R/R

#27 Kylee Schwind: P/INF; 5' 10"; Junior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#7 Mary Pat Murray
: 5' 7"; Junior; R/R
: P

#23 Jackie Bilotti
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: SS

#4 Kristin Cancelliere
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: OF

#2 Kayla Resh
: 4' 11"; Senior; R/R
: OF/P

#27 Kylee Schwind
: 5' 10"; Junior; R/R
: P/INF