By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent
The Saint Xavier softball team played three nailbiters in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament.
But the end result was a 1-2 record to eliminate the Cougars from advancing.
SXU (28-14) opened the tournament by nipping Bellevue (Nebraska) 5-4 in Sioux City, Iowa on May 13. Alexus Reese hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Maddi Stahulak with the winning run.
In the second round, the Cougars dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to Northwestern College (Iowa). Aubrey Wroble drove home a run in the top of the seventh on a fielder’s choice, but the game ended on a close play at first base with a runner on third. SXU left seven runners stranded in the loss.
The final game was a 6-4 loss in a rematch with Bellevue. Kaitlyn Wright had three hits and Abbie Carr had two, but the Cougars stranded nine runners in the setback.