Garden City, N.Y. - It was nearly déjà vu for the #12 Adelphi University softball team on Friday, until a 4-1 loss to Wilmington University in Game 3 of the NCAA Division II Super Regional kept the 'Cats from their ultimate goal.
Unlike last year, the Panthers (47-8) were unable to stave off elimination twice against the Wildcats (44-14), who will make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II College World Series.
Game 2: Adelphi 4, Wilmington 1
While she wasn't untouchable,
Lindsey Hibbs bounced back from yesterday's struggles to force a winner-take-all contest for the second year in a row.
After pitching a shutout in the same spot last season, Hibbs let up one run on three hits with five strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
The offense followed form. Almost from the jump,
Angela Lignelli roped a pitch to center to get Adelphi on the board first in the second.
Courtney Wengryn and
Brianna Fischer both continued to rake with a pair of third-inning RBI doubles, while
Jordyn Pasqueralli scored on a wild pitch in the fifth.
Hibbs faced one over the minimum across her last four innings of work and inched closer to the milestone of 400 strikeouts in the process.
Game 3: Adelphi 1, Wilmington 3
A game that started off in a standstill, the two Pitchers of the Year in their respective conferences went toe-to-toe and traded zeroes over the first three innings.
A misplayed hop by
Angelina Kellogg led off a significant fourth inning for Wilmington. Aggressive on the basepaths, the Wildcats struck for a couple of RBI hits against
Claire Fon, who relieved Hibbs after three innings.
For a second-straight day, the Adelphi bats were unable to chase Kylee Gunkel out of the circle. In a strikingly-similar line to yesterday's outing, Gunkel pitched seven innings of one-run, four-strikeout ball.
The Panthers were held to one runner in scoring position through five. In the sixth,
Kendall Winn cut into the narrow Wilmington lead, but
Jaden Farhat -- as the potential go-ahead run -- hit a deep flyout just short of the warning track.
Lignelli stepped up as the tying run in the seventh and hit a shallow lineout to center that doubled Kellogg off the bag at first.
Zee Zee Shreter made the final out on a grounder to third, thereby concluding Adelphi's magical season.
Head Coach
Carla Campagna and the Panthers tied last year's single-season win mark in 2023, with a 47-8 overall record. Adelphi will return to Janet L. Ficke Field next year as two-time defending NE10 Tournament champions.
