Box Score
TYLER,  Texas – Allegory and reality collided here Friday night as the Louisiana College softball team was eliminated from the NCAA Division III West Regional following a 5-2 loss to Texas-Tyler.

As the final out of the game was recorded, a pop-up to right field, the heavens opened and the game field, players and coaches were soaked as distant lightning began to crack.

Few are the times when the weather more accurately matched the mood of the Louisiana College softball family.

Even as the tears poured as freely as the rains, there was a certain ray of hope for the still young Lady Cats, a team with just two seniors that was picked to finish fourth in its division in the American Southwest Conference.

There was even the slightest tinge of pride through the pain as the injured, road-worn Lady Cats closed the books of their 2012 season.

“I know they don't necessarily feel it right now, but the team had a really good season,” first-year head coach Mark Rosier said. “I hope they can keep the big picture in mind and appreciate the fact that they were one of just 61 teams in the entire nation to earn a spot in this tournament. It's hard to keep that in perspective when you're dealing with the pain of losing but my hope is that they will eventually look back on this season with pride. They were a special group.”

Louisiana College (28-15), which fell 9-2 to Claremont-Muss-Scripps earlier in the day, took an early lead Friday night but surrendered two runs in the second, one in the fifth and two in the sixth to drop the game to the Patriots (37-7), the host team for the regional.

The Lady Cats kept the game close throughout with superb defense and solid pitching and held high-powered Texas-Tyler to seven hits  but could not muster the required offence.

LC scored its two runs on four hits, one apiece from Daniele Wilson, Laura Gulotta-Parrish, Stephanie Jaeger and Emily Douglas. Wilson and Jaeger also accounted for an RBI apiece in the contest.

Texas-Tyler was led by Carli Wheeler with a 1-for-3, two-RBI performance and Katelyn Thomason who went 1-for-3 with a solo homerun.

Heather Abshire was the winning pitcher, working all seven innings and striking out four while walking four.

Rudi Aycock took the loss for LC after pitching six innings and allowing seven hits and five earned runs.