SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo fought No. 8 Palm Beach Atlantic for 18 innings Friday for a doubleheader where the Sailfish prevailed in game one 2-0 and took game two in 11 innings 4-3. The Lions honored its five seniors, Sommer Pollard, Brittany Creamer, Alison Mitts, Bailey McKenna, and Samantha Tyler, for their dedication and hard work for the past four years.
 
Saint Leo finished the regular season with a 32-15 record while holding a 16-14 record in the Sunshine State Conference.
 
On the day, Shyanne DuBois paced the Green and Gold, going 3-for-7 for a .429 batting average. Kacie Kelly was a close second at 3-for-8 for a .375 average, ahead of Auria Mounts and Amanda James. Mounts and James both went 1-for-5 on the day.
 
Bailey McKenna, Sarah Pauscher and Ashley Morris all collected one hit to round out the Lions' hits in the two games.
 
Auria Mounts, Alison Mitts and Sara Neuman all made appearances on the mound for Saint Leo. Mitts tossed 7.1 innings to Mounts 5.2 and Neuman's 5.0 where Mounts racked a team-high five strikeouts.
 
Game One - #8 Palm Beach Atlantic 2, Saint Leo 0
The Sailfish and Lions played two scoreless innings before Palm Beach Atlantic scored two runs in the top of the third to take an early 2-0 lead.
 
Saint Leo would strand base runners on in three of the final five innings of the game where the Green and Gold left two runners on in the fourth inning.
 
An early base runner in the seventh for the Lions, got stranded at second as the Sailfish were able to hold off Saint Leo for game one, 2-0.
 
Game Two - #8 Palm Beach Atlantic 4, Saint Leo 3 (11 innings)
Saint Leo and Palm Beach Atlantic scattered a combined 21 hits in the 11-inning game two of the day. It would be PBA once again getting on the board first with two runs in the second on three hits.
 
The Lions tried to answer in the bottom half stranding runners on the corners.
 
Three innings of scoreless softball saw PBA add on another run in the top of the sixth to take a 3-0 lead over the Lions. Down but not out, the Green and Gold rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it at 3-3.
 
Kacie Kelly got things started in the sixth with a one-out double to left center. Ashley Morris started a string of singles where the Lions saw Shyanne DuBois, Sarah Pauscher and Amanda James follow up with singles of their own to score three runs.
 
Two straight innings of 1-2-3-softball saw the game head to the ninth inning tied, 3-3. PBA threatened in the top half stranding two runners before Mounts retired the side with a strikeout.
 
It looked as if the Lions were going to walk off in the 10th as Sommer Pollard drew the one-out walk before Kacie Kelly's single to center field saw runners on first and second. A rare dropped fly ball in shallow center field saw Kelly get thrown out at second to leave runners on first and third with two outs. The Lions left the runners on the corners as the game headed to the 11th.
 
The Sailfish scored the go-ahead run in the 11th inning after a one-out triple put a runner at third, where a base knock scored the run. Alison Mitts came in to shut the door on the inning to hold the Sailfish to just a one-run lead.
 
Saint Leo left a runner aboard in the bottom of the 11th as the game went final with a strikeout.
 
Up Next …
Saint Leo will await the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show on Monday, May 7 at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com.
 
For more information on the Saint Leo softball program, visit SaintLeoLions.com.  Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.