May 4, 2003

Greenville, N.C. - The Saint Louis softball team saw it's season end in disappointing fashion with a 3-2 loss at East Carolina on Sunday. If the Billikens had won, they would have clinched a berth in the Conference USA softball tournament this week. Instead, coupled with UAB's win over Southern Miss, the Billikens were eliminated from the league tourney. The Billikens close the season with a record of 21-18 overall, 9-14 in C-USA. The Pirates finish the 2003 season with a record of 24-32 overall and 5-19 in C-USA play.

East Carolina scored it's only runs of the game in the bottom of the third. With one out, ECU got two straight singles. and a passed ball allowed both runners to move into scoring position. Christine Sheridan drove in both runners with a double to right-center. Then after an out, Krista Jessup doubled in the third run of the frame.

The Billikens rallied in the top of the sixth when they loaded the bases. Adrie Bogaars had an RBI fielder's choice to plate Billiken lead runner Beth Yagge from third. SLU scored its second run on an ECU fielding error to close the gap to 3-2. With one out, Beth Schomaker hit a ground ball to short for the second out of the inning. Logan Justice sprinted towards home for what would have been the game-tying game, but was thrown out on a strong defensive play by the Pirates to end the threat.

Billiken starter Nicole Bohnenstiehl went the distance and struck out 13, but suffered her third straight one-run loss of the weekend. The Billikens tallied just four runs in the three-game series. The weekend marked the first time since the season opener at Houston that the Billikens had been swept in a three-game series.