DAHLONEGA, Ga. – It lasted 10 innings and included a dramatic steal of home base to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but in the end, the Queens University of Charlotte softball team saw its season come to a close today after suffering a 4-2 loss to King University. The loss was the second for the Royals in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional 1 from Haines & Carolyn Hill Stadium.
 
Queens finishes its historic year with a record-breaking 35 wins and just 17 losses. The 35 wins are the most in program history, beating the previous high of 34 wins recorded in 2006. The 35-17 record this season led the Royals to a Regional at-large bid, their first Regional appearance since 2010. 
 
After trailing 1-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Queens offense found life as Elaina Frantellizzi stepped to the plate and doubled to right-center field to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Abby Lathan flew out to center field, just deep enough to allow Frantellizzi to tag and advance to third. Down to the last out, Allison Lopez forced the count full before drawing a walk and exiting for the speedy pinch runner, Sabrina Martinez.  Martinez promptly stole second base, and on the throw down from the catcher, Frantellizzi made the heads-up decision to dart towards home plate, sliding in head first ahead of the throw to tie the game at 1-1 and send it into extra innings.
 
The score remained knotted at 1-1 until the 10th inning when King broke things open, plating three runs on two hits and one error off Royals pitcher Ali Celiberti. Celiberti, who took the loss, relieved Courtney Pearson in the eighth inning and escaped the inning unscathed after inheriting runners on first and second with no outs. She allowed three runs, one earned, on three hits and a walk over the final three innings.
 
Queens trimmed the deficit to two in the bottom of the 10th inning thanks to a run-scoring triple from Cierra Robinson, but the Royals could not quite make up the gap as its best season in program history came to a close.
 
Pearson got the start in the circle for Queens, and for the second time in as many days put forward one of the best outings of her season. She completed seven innings giving up one run (zero earned) on eight hits. She also recorded no walks and three strikeouts. Combined with Celiberti, the Queens pitchers stranded 11 King runners on base. As for Pearson, the Royals' ace finishes her sophomore season with a 16-10 record.
 
Sara Ingoldsby led Queens with two hits today, upping her season total to 69. That puts the freshman leadoff hitter in a tie with Noel Belk for first all-time in program history for hits in a single season.  
 
King advances to play Coker College in an elimination game later tonight. Top-seeded North Georgia defeated Coker earlier today, 6-0.