FLORENCE, Ala. – Six hundred and ninety six miles. That's the distance it took No. 25 Saint Leo softball to travel to get revenge on Sunshine State Conference foe No. 22 Embry-Riddle. The Lions, playing as the third seed in the South Region, scored three runs in the first inning backed by a dominating performance by Auria Mounts in the circle to win its fourth meeting against the No. 22 Embry-Riddle Eagles, playing as the sixth seed at the South 2 Regional at the UNA Softball Complex.
 
Saint Leo (33-15) got revenge on SSC foe Embry-Riddle (33-14) after going 0-3 on the season against the Eagles. The Lions push the all-time record to 7-3 after opening up the 2018 NCAA postseason with a win.
 
Auria Mounts (15-7) earned the win in the circle after pitching the complete inning shutout allowing just three hits and surrendering one walk. The Bradenton, Florida native tallied five strikeouts on the day.
 
Kacie Kelly paced the Green and Gold from the box going 2-for-3 with one run scored where Shyanne DuBois and Bethany Kursch went 1-for-3. Sommer Pollard tallied the other hit on the day, going 1-for-2. DuBois and Sarah Pauscher were credited with the other run scored where DuBois picked up the lone RBI of the day.
 
Mounts came out firing dealing a 1-2-3-inning to start the game with a strikeout and two groundouts. The Lions used a quick start in the bottom half as Kacie Kelly singled through the left side. Ashley Morris came up and drew the walk on a full count, allowing Saint Leo to have two on and no outs.
 
Shyanne DuBois would single to center field allowing Kelly to come in to score and Morris to move to third. Now with two on and two outs, a costly error by the Eagles' pitcher would allow DuBois and Sarah Pauscher to come in to score while Bailey Burk flew around the bases to third. The Lions would strand a runner leaving the first inning ahead 3-0.
 
Mounts would deal yet another 1-2-3-inning in the second, and then the third, and fourth before the Eagles were able to get a base runner. Mounts' perfect game was erased on a one-out single before getting back to her 1-2-3-ways. Saint Leo stranded three runners over the middle five innings.
 
Heading to the top of the seventh still with Saint Leo leading 3-0, Embry-Riddle broke through with a leadoff walk. Following the walk, Mounts got the batter to line into a double-play, Brittany Creamer to Bethany Kursch, before back-to-back singles. With two outs, and two on, ERAU's Pege Lopez hit a shot to left center, where Shyanne DuBois tracked it down in front of Bailey McKenna for the final out of the game.
 
Up Next …
Saint Leo will take on the winner of No. 2 North Alabama/No. 7 West Florida at 2 p.m. CDT / 3 p.m. EDT.
 
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.