Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation

ITHACA, N.Y. - Lebanon Valley College saw its run in the NCAA Tournament come to an end Friday, as the Dutchmen rallied in the seventh but fell short against Defiance College, 2-1, in regional action at Ithaca College.

The Dutchmen, who finish at 27-11 overall, had plenty of chances offensively but left nine runners on base, including runners in scoring position in six innings. The Yellowjackets (23-17) move on to face the loser of Friday's Bethany-Ramapo game.

The loss ends arguably the most successful season in program history that saw the Dutchmen win their first-ever Commonwealth Conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Lebanon Valley did it all with seven non-seniors in the everyday line-up, with Lauren Sanford, Jess Salisbury, and Amy Weist representing the team's only seniors.

The Dutchmen had several great opportunities to score early, including a pair of doubles by Caitlin Keller, but she was left at third both times. Artz, likewise, reached third in the fifth and was stranded.

After four scoreless innings, Defiance got its scoring done with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth when Marah Robinson roped a single down the left-field line to score two runs.

LVC tried to rally in the seventh, and it looked as though they might do it as they put Katie Freeman and Chelsea Artz on with no outs. Lauren Sanford reached on a fielder's choice, but Artz scored from third to cut the lead to 2-1. Katie DeJulio grounded out for the second out, advancing Sanford, and Kristen Uhas drew a walk. Salisbury, however, went down swinging to end the game.

Laura Snyder took the loss for LVC, finishing at 14-4 in a brilliant debut season. Justine Johnston allowed five hits and a run with five strikeouts and five walks to improve to 17-7.