Box Score Atlanta, GA - The Piedmont College softball team took a first inning lead, but saw the Eagles of Emory University put up four in the 4th that proved to be the difference on Championship Sunday in the Atlanta Regional of the NCAA National Tournament.  Piedmont finishes its 2014 campaign with the loss eliminated from NCAA championship play after a 43-8 overall record that included a USA South Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship, the first program to earn both crowns in the same season since Piedmont became a USA South member last year.

Piedmont took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the Sunday contest between the pair of budding Georgia rivals as Olivia Duncan forced the Eagles to make a choice on a bunt laid down with Abby Atkinson at third.  The squeeze allowed Atkinson to score and Duncan to advance to second as the sophomore is making a strong case as one of the most clutch NCAA performers for PC ever.

With the 1-0 lead intact through two, the atmosphere tightened up on the Atlanta campus though yesterday's 13-12 wild ride had everybody in the near vicinity thinking this one was not yet over by a long shot.  Emory was able to square things up at 1 when Megan Light doubled through the left side to pick up a RBI.  Light would later be named the Atlanta Regional's Most Outstanding Player at the day's end as she had quite the tournament at home, a showing which included a pair of homers yesterday in that one-run win over Piedmont.

Emory then put up a four-spot in the bottom of the 4th inning to distance themselves from the Lady Lions as the Eagles used three hits and a pair of Piedmont errors to spark the big inning.  The momentum swing that came in the 4th for the home team could have been far different if a shot by Abby Smith back in the top of the 2nd had not be scoped up by a spectacular play by Emory center fielder Lauren Gorodetsky.

However, Emory seized the moment themselves with that four-run 4th that put the home team up 5-1 and ended the day for Brittney Head who made her final start in the circle for Head Coach Terry Martin ending a decorated career.  Head was shouldered with six straight starts just a few weeks ago that carried Piedmont to its first USA South Championship Tournament title.

The Eagles added another in the bottom of the 6th when Ally Kersthold hit a ground ball to second with no outs to score Pollard from third after a leadoff triple to start the inning.  Other than that bump, relief pitcher Sarah Walker threw well for PC against the #15 team in the nation.  

Walker threw two and a third allowing just the one hit on that leadoff triple that glanced off the glove of Olivia Duncan in right who looked for a moment like she had ran it down.  Walker faced eight batters and induced a trio of fly outs as well as four ground outs to put a bright spot on the youth of the Lady Lions returning for 2015.

Emory finished the day with a 6-1 final score line getting their six runs on eight hits and three Piedmont errors.  The Eagles themselves were perfect in the field with no errors behind a briliant showing from Amanda Kardys in the circle as she allowed just two hits and one run fanning three in seven innings of work.  

A trio of Piedmont players made the Regional All-Tournament team for their play on the weekend including Abby Smith, Olivia Duncan, and Laura Carter.  The trio bodes well for the future of Piedmont softball as all three are sophomores this season for Head Coach Terry Martin, who believes this group is as capable as any to return to the same height next season.

"I think most people outside the program thought that this may be a bit of a rebuilding year for us with the group of seniors we lost after last season, and that makes sense with the talent that graduated in 2013 after four successful years," said Martin of his team's unexpected and unprecedented success.  "But, as a good longtime coaching friend of mine once said, 'To have a championship team, the intangibles have to be greater than the talent.'  I think this group proved that correct with as much heart as they put into this season, and I'm looking forward to a lot of this team returning next season."

The Lady Lions will lose just two to graduation, though the pair will be tough to replace as the twin sister, pitching-catching combo of Brittney Head and Lauren Head left the field for the final time on Sunday afternoon.  The two will leave as perhaps the winningest such combination in Piedmont history though many young Lady Lions looked ready to step in and fill the big shoes of their graduating teammates, something that this very pair had to do when last year's successful senior class left Demorest.

The three that earned Regional All-Tournament honors were as deserving of the honor as any with Abby Smith taking her place after two home runs smashed on Saturday including a three-run shot against Emory that bounced off the top of the fence before dramatically falling on the other side.  Smith has a knack for coming up strong in big moments though as her triple followed by a dramatic slide into home plate during the championship game of the USA South tourney is a likely favorite to land on the cover of the 2013-14 Year-In-Review.

Laura Carter earns her recognition after roaming the center field spot for Piedmont in 2014 and doing so with many remarking on the youngster's ability to cover ground like another famous Atlanta center fielder of old.  Carter also scored three times on the weekend, twice in yesterday's 13-12 loss to Emory alone as she went a perfect three-for-three against the nationally ranked Eagles in that contest.

Making a second straight appearance on the Regional All-Tournament Team was sophomore Olivia Duncan, a no-brainer selection as she incredibly went 7-for-11 at the plate in a NCAA Regional again doing the exact same damage last year in Salem.  Duncan's .636 average in Atlanta included three RBIs as the youngster continues to impress in postseason play helping Piedmont to a second straight NCAA Regional Championship Game appearance.

Piedmont has made it to the final game in each of the last three NCAA Regionals the Lady Lions have played in falling to the top seed in each of those regional championship games.  PC wraps up 2014 with a 43-8 overall record, the program's winningest season ever, and could return all but one in their starting lineup come 2015.

Atlanta Regional All-Tournament Team
Megan Light (Most Outstanding Player) -- Emory
Hannah Sendel  -- Emory
Micah Scharff -- Emory
Ally Kersthold -- Emory
Amanda Kardys -- Emory
ABBY SMITH -- Piedmont
OLIVIA DUNCAN -- Piedmont
LAURA CARTER -- Piedmont
Kayla St. John -- Lynchburg
Aimee McKibbin -- Agnes Scott