The top-seeded Cedar Crest College softball team won the 2021 Colonial States Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday, April 8 their home field in Allentown.

“I can’t say it enough, I am so proud of this team,” said head coach Kim Begley.

The Falcons awaited the winner of the elimination game between Keystone College and Wilson College, where the Phoenix defeated the Giants in extra innings, placing Wilson in the championship series. The Phoenix blanked the Falcons 6-0 in Game 1 of the CSAC Championship.

In the deciding game, Cedar Crest only needed five innings to take down Wilson 12-2 to claim their first conference title in program history.

Junior Rachel Savini went 2-for-3 in the first game, while some Lehigh Valley area players also contributed. Seniors Ashley Heller (Parkland), Patricia Dalton (Northampton Area), and sophomore Renee Snyder (Parkland) also reached base in the contest.

Junior Skyler Bilous (Parkland) got the start in Game 1 and pitched five innings while allowing six runs, three of them earned, on nine hits. She struck out three of the 30 batters she faced.

Graduate student Breanna Young (Wilson Area) entered the game in the sixth inning and pitched the last two innings. She allowed just one hit and no runs while earning three groundouts, two flyouts, and struck out one in the seven batters she faced. Bilous ultimately received the loss in the decision, putting her at 9-2 on the year.

In game two, Wilson got on the scoreboard first, but Cedar Crest evened the game up at 1-1 after one inning.

The Falcons’ bats erupted in a seven-run third inning for an 8-2 lead. The Black and Yellow tacked on four more runs in the fourth inning, needing just three defensive outs to capture the CSAC crown. Cedar Crest defeated Wilson College 12-2 in five innings to win the program’s first conference championship.

“We knew going into this game that it was going to be the battle of the offenses and this team put the runs on the board and kept tacking them on inning after inning,” said Begley.

Nine Falcons recorded a hit in the title-clinching game, being led by senior Riley Tremblay (Parkland), who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBIs and scored a run. Savini produced her second multi-hit game of the day, going a clean 3-for-3, scoring twice, and driving in a run.

Four Falcons each had two-hit performances, starting with Dalton, who had two doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Graduate student Nicole Santaniello and Snyder each scored a run and plated a runner, as Heller had two RBIs and scored once.

Junior Delaney VanBuskirk’s lone hit of the game was a double that drove in a run, as senior Danielle Krispin reached on a base hit that plated a runner and scored two runs of her own. Graduate student Dallas Horning (Liberty) also recorded a hit, which then sophomore Reilly Mateljan replaced her as a pinch runner and scored.

Young got the start and threw for all 5.0 innings. She allowed two earned runs on just two hits, to go with a pair of strikeouts. . Young (7-1) faced 22 batters and earned with the win.

“The pitching staff was the heart of the team today,” said Begley. “The team stepped up and fought for their pitchers and came up big with the final outs.”

With this win, Cedar Crest will represent the CSAC and make their first-ever appearance in the D-III NCAA Championship Tournament.