SALEM, Va. - Birmingham-Southern College's historic softball season came to a close Sunday afternoon with a five-inning, 9-1 loss to Texas Lutheran in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship semifinals.  Annie Clayton (Eufaula, Ala./Eufaula HS) was named to he NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team for her play during the World Series.

"That's a tough one. You don't want to go out losing like that, but I'm extremely proud of our kids for getting here, and producing and playing the way that we did. We had a lot of close games, and two not so close games. I'm proud of the way that they played. They fight. They're hard-nosed, and I'm excited and privileged I was able to coach this year," said BSC head coach Kimball Cassady.

The loss concludes BSC's season at 33-8. The Panthers went 25-6 in regular season action, including 12-2 in-conference to win the Southern Athletic Association regular season title. BSC swept the SAA Tournament, 3-0, and then went 4-0 at the NCAA Regional in Marshall, Texas to earn its first-ever trip to the NCAA DIII Softball Championships, where it was the No. 3 seed and finished 2-2. 

"We made our minds up in January when we came back that we had a special team. For us, we're talented, but our kids really loved each other and got along, and that helped us along the way. It's a blessing to have gotten this far and to make history like this. That means good things for our program to come, and I couldn't be more excited," Cassady said.

Kaylyn Chapman (New Castle, Pa./Shenango HS) and Clayton each had two hits to lead the Panthers' offense in Sunday's semifinal, including a two-out double by Chapman in the fifth inning to drive in BSC's only run. Morgan McGuire (Notasulga, Ala./Reeltown HS) singled in the previous at bat and scored the run. 

Saydee Keith (Corner, Ala,/Corner HS) also had a hit in the game. 

Texas Lutheran, the defending NCAA Division III national champions, used a pair of solo home runs to build a 2-0 lead through the second inning, before adding five runs in the third and two in the fourth to build a 9-0 lead, securing the run-rule victory. 

Lauren Keplinger (Pinson, Ala./Wallace State Hanceville), Hailee Bryan  (Laurel Hill, Fla./Paxton HS) and Clayton each pitched in the game. 

Nine BSC players collected at least one hit while in Salem. McGuire and Chapman each had five hits to lead the team through its four games. 

NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
Annie Clayton