Arianna Segich
Arianna Segich

Brandywine’s Tournament Run Ends With Fourth-Place Finish

DUBOIS, Pa. – No. 10 Penn State Brandywine avoided elimination three times with a trio of victories Tuesday and Wednesday, but the Lions saw the 2019 season come to a conclusion following a 10-2 defeat at the hands of No. 5 St. Mary of the Woods Wednesday afternoon at the USCAA Softball World Series. Brandywine finished fourth in the tournament for the third time in four years and collected its fourth-straight top-five showing.

Brandywine closed out the year with a record of 26-18, one win short of matching the 2018 team for the school's single-season victory record. The Lions captured their fifth-straight conference championship nine days ago in DuBois.

Brandywine built a 2-0 lead, but the Pomeroys tied the score with two runs in the second inning and busted the game open with a seven-run fourth inning.

Arianna Segich (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) beat out an infield single and later scored on Alexandra Szpindor's (Pottstown, Pa./Pope John Paul II) groundout in the first inning. One frame later, Fiona Warren (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) singled through the middle and crossed home on Maddie Malfara's (Ardsley, Pa./Abington) to account for the Lions' pair of scores.

The loss signaled the end of the careers for Brandywine's two seniors, Segich and Malfara, who cap their four years as two of the most decorated athletes in the department's history.

Segich added a hit, run and stolen base to her career totals during the game, upping her school record marks to 212 hits, 192 runs scored and 165 stolen bases. The three-time all-American set single-season records in all three categories with 57 hits, 54 runs and 68 steals this spring.

Malfara, an honorable mention all-conference selection and academic all-American, collected her 79th RBI in 146 games during her career. She ranks fourth all-time at Brandywine with 110 hits.