PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Albertus Magnus softball team dropped to the Sharks of Simmons University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals, bringing the season's record to 24-19.

With the team's first loss of the tournament, the Falcons will advance to play tomorrow in the championships against the winner of Lasell/Emmanuel.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Simmons 6 | Albertus Magnus 1
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (24-19) | Simmons (24-14)
BOX SCORE 1 

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Sharks offense put together two-hit innings in the first and second, but were unable to finish their opportunities by leaving two runners on base each time as the Falcons' defense battled to limit their chances.
• In the bottom of the first and second innings, the Falcons could not find a hit behind the strong Simmons' defense.
• The Sharks converted their scoring chances in the top of the third, tallying four runs over the Falcons. With the bases loaded, Teagan Buckley doubled to left center to drive in two RBI. During the next at-bat, Maddie Gagliastro singled to send home two runners, 4-0.
• The Falcons' offense was limited by the Sharks in the bottom of the third as they continued to seek out their first hit.
• The Sharks found another opportunity to score in the top of the fourth as Shannon McMahon homered down the left field line to increase their lead by two, 6-0.
• Albertus found momentum in the bottom of the fourth placing runners on second and third behind a walk from Angelina Ramada (North Branford, Conn.) and a hit from Peyton Davis (North Haven, Conn.). With two outs, the Falcons were unable to send runners to score before the Sharks ended the inning.
• Pitcher Amanda Savinelli (New Haven, Conn.) spearheaded the fifth inning, striking out the first batter while the Falcons' defense cleaned up a popped up ball to second base and a groundout to shortstop.
• Ivy Geloso (Beacon Falls, Conn.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle before getting out on a fielder's choice as Fatima Rosales (East Elmhurst, N.Y.) reached first. The Simmons' defense cleaned up the inning with Rosales left on base.
• After a quiet sixth inning, the Falcons found their opportunities late in the bottom of the seventh as Davis walked and Anna Leone (Shelton, Conn.) doubled for Davis to score. With two outs, Rosales walked to put runners on first and second. The Sharks secured the win after cleaning up a ground ball to third base for the third out.

IN THE CIRCLE
WP: Maddie Castigliego (W, 15-8) - 7.0 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 2 BB | 2 SO
LP: Annabelle Jabs (L, 6-6) - 2.2 IP | 8 H | 4 R | 4 ER | 1 SO

AT THE PLATE

• Three Falcons collected a hit: Davis, Geloso and Leone.
• Leone recorded the Falcons' single RBI of the game during the seventh inning.

UP NEXT
The Falcons return to action in the GNAC championships on Sunday, May 7 to play the winner of Lasell/Emmanuel. The location is hosted by Johnson & Wales in Providence R.I., while game time is TBA. Updates will follow regarding game information on the GNAC and Albertus Magnus Athletics website.