Box Score SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The University of Mary's chance at a conference championship and an automatic berth in the Central Region Tournament came to a close Saturday as it fell to No. 18 Winona State University on the final day of the Northern Sun Softball Tournament. Losing yesterday, The Marauders (33-22) needed to win two games to advance to the championship of the double elimination tournament, but fell 13-5 in five innings to the Warriors (43-7).
 
Senior Allison Brown led off the game with her 11th home run of the season as U-Mary took a 3-0 first inning lead. Julissa Perales drove in the other two runs of the inning with an RBI single to score Alana Norman and Kristin Ormsby, who both singled.
 
The Marauders lead was short-lived, however, as the Warriors loaded the bases on an error, a walk and a single, before taking the lead with a grand slam to centerfield in the bottom of the first.
 
WSU didn't stop there, as it added eight runs on eight hits, while taking advantage of two U-Mary errors to extend its lead to 12-3.
 
Taylor Mendez and Brown delivered RBI singles in the third and fourth innings respectively in an attempt to extend the game. However the Warriors answered in the bottom of the fifth with three hits to go ahead by eight to secure a 13-5, five inning win.
 
U-Mary recorded nine hits, just two of which went for extra bases. WSU notched 14 hits, including five extra base hits.
 
With 33 wins this season, the Marauders surpassed their previous highest win total of 31, set in 2008 and 2010, since transitioning to NCAA Division II in 2006.
 
In that same period, U-Mary set program bests for batting average (.339), on-base percentage (.396), slugging percentage (.509) and home runs (51). The Marauders pitchers also set a record in that span striking out 339 batters, 20 more than they have any of their previous seasons since joining DII.

Today's loss could end the careers of seniors Brown and Cherlyn Trujillo. In four seasons Brown accumulated a total of 225 hits good for a .368 batting average, drove in 159 runs and blasted 37 home runs. In just two seasons, Trujillo posted 35 wins, and struck 379 batters in 351 innings, while maintaining a 2.11 ERA.
 
The Central Region Tournament is comprised of the top-eight teams from the Central Region. The Marauders were not a part of last weeks regional rankings, but do have a fourth place finish at the NSIC Tournament, a win over the top ranked team in the region, No. 18 Winona State, and a win over Fort Hays State, who was ranked 14th in the nation at the time, on their resume. Tournament pairings will be announced Monday at 9 a.m. at NCAA.com/liveschedule.
 
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