WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The No. 4 seed Washington & Jefferson College softball team saw its season end with a 6-0 loss to No. 5 seed Grove City College in Presidents' Athletic Conference Tournament action at Brooks Park Thursday afternoon. 

Grove City, who defeated Chatham by a 7-5 score in the game's first single elimination game, built an early lead in their second game of the day as well en route to victory. Grove City advances to face No. 1 seed Geneva College on Friday.

The Wolverines jumped on the Presidents from the get go. Grove City opened the game with a bloop single by pitcher Janessa Dawson, who then promptly advanced to third on consecutive wild pitches by W&J starting pitcher Alisha Kulka (Hanover, Pa./South Western). Two batters later, a bobbled ground ball on the infield prohibited Dawson to race home for the game's first run. With runners on the corners and just one out, Kulka got the ground ball she needed to limit the damage. Peyton Eckenrode (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern) fielded a ground ball, stepped on second and threw onto first for the inning-ending double play. 

Grove City used back-to-back singles to open the second. Following a successful sacrifice bunt, the Wolverines designated player Erin Mulholland produced an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 2-0.

The Wolverines tacked on another run in the top of the third inning. This time the visitors did damage after two outs. Haley Dietz singled and scored on an RBI double by GCC shortstop Lexi Buck to stretch the lead to 3-0. 

Grove City broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning. The Wolverines benefited from a pair of defensive miscues in the frame by W&J. Grove City tacked on three runs (all unearned) on three hits and two errors in the frame to push its edge to 6-0. 

That was all the support that Dawson needed in the circle for Grove City. The Presidents, who scored seven earned runs in just 4.1 innings to beat Dawson on March 23, couldn't string anything together Thursday. Thursday's game marked the first seven-inning shutout for Dawson in 2021. Dawson limited W&J to just five hits and issued just one walk. 

W&J's best chance to score came in the bottom of the sixth. Savannah Keough (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) led off the frame with a single. A batter later, Sarah Labbe (Belgrade, Maine/Messalonksee) drilled a double to deep center. Grove City executed the perfect relay to nab Keough at the plate. The next two Presidents couldn't hit the ball out of the infield and Labbe was stranded at third. The Presidents went quietly in the seventh, as they were retired in order to end the game. 

Kulka suffered the loss, as the junior allowed three runs (two earned) in 2.2 innings. Jordan Hinz (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) allowed three runs (all unearned) in 1.2 innings of relief. Sydney Petrowski (Lemont Furnace, Pa./Connellsville) finished up by tossing 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. 

Keough and Labbe accounted for two hits apiece in a five-hit effort W&J. W&J's lone senior, Brooke McCleester (Johnstown, Pa./Conemaugh Valley), reached base twice as well in the loss.

Grove City put the leadoff runner on in three of the four innings that they scored in. W&J put the leadoff runner on base just twice in seven innings. 

The Presidents close the season with a 17-15-1 overall record. Despite the disappointment finish, W&J recorded a winning season for the first time since the 2014 campaign. W&J qualified for the PAC Tournament for the first time since 2015. The season was highlighted by an eight-game winning streak.