GROVE CITY, Pa. – The Allegheny softball team won their opening game of the 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament game but fell in their second contest of the event Thursday (May 1) at Grove City.
The fourth-seed Gators won their opening round game against fifth-seed Bethany 3-2 before falling to top-ranked Grove City 7-0 in their second game of the day.
The Gators are still alive in the tournament and will play third-seed Geneva in an elimination game Friday morning (May 2).
Game One - #4 Allegheny 3, #5 Bethany 2
The Bison threatened with two runners on and one out in the first, but the Gators turned a ground ball to second baseman
Julia Perillo (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) turned into a 4-6-3 double play to get the Gators out of the inning.
In the bottom of the frame,
Samantha Phillips (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) drew a leadoff walk. After an
Aleya Belardinelli (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) sacrifice bunt,
Olivia Devries (Kent, Ohio/Field) got the Gators on the board. Devries launched the ball over the left field fence for a two-run home run. It marked her ninth home run of the season.
The Gators added to their lead in the third. Belardinelli drew a two-out walk and got to third on a wild pitch and an error on the throw to second. Devries came through again with a RBI single to left field, making it 3-0.
The Bison got on the board in the fifth, scoring one run on two hits to cut their deficit to two. Bethany added one more run in the sixth as the Gator lead was down to one run.
The top of the seventh began with a Bison double. However, Belardinelli struck out the next two batters and shortstop
Alaina Sharp (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County) caught a difficult pop-up as the Gators held off the Bison to seal the opening round win.
Inside the Box
- Devries drove in all three runs on a home run and a single.
- Belardinelli earned the win, striking out four batters. She also had a single and scored a run.
- Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) and Perillo also singled.
Game Two - #1 Grove City 7, #4 Allegheny 0
The Wolverines struck first in the bottom of the second. After a leadoff triple and a walk, the Wolverines scored twice on a pair of infield singles. A double then brought two more runners in as they led 4-0 after two.
The Gators threatened in the second with two runners on after a
Cameron Long (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) single and a Wolverine error. However, the Gators were unable to push a run across.
Grove City tacked on two more runs in the third to extend their lead to 6-0.
In the sixth, Genareo hit a lead-off single.
Catherine Burkett (Harborcreek, Pa./Harbor Creek) pinch ran for her and moved to second on an
Audrey Blarr (Clarence, N.Y./Clarence) sacrifice bunt. Sharp drew a walk and Burkett took third on a wild pitch to place runners on the corners. Once again, the Wolverines got out of the situation unscathed.
Wolverines added an additional run in the sixth to take a 7-0 lead into the seventh.
Allegheny had one more chance in the top of the seventh, but was unable to produce a baserunner as they fell to the top-seed in the field.
Inside the Box
- Madison Hulse (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) pitched the final four innings in relief, not allowing an earned run.
- Belardinelli, Long and Genareo logged hits.
News and Notes
- The Gators are now 21-15 all-time against Bethany and 31-9 against Grove City.
- Devries tied Sadie Stuart for the third most career home runs in program history with 22.
Up Next
The Gators next game of the tournament will be an elimination game against third seed Geneva Friday (May 2) at 10 am.
