Fontbonne softball's era as SLIAC Tournament Champs comes to an end

Elsah, Ill. - Fontbonne University softball defeated Eureka College 2-1 today but then fell to Greenville College 6-3, their second loss in the double-elimination conference tournament. Fontbonne ended their season in the SLIAC Tournament for the first time since 2009. The Griffins were named SLIAC Tournament Champions the last six years, advancing to the NCAA National Tournament.

The Griffins finished 23-13 on the year. Taking home SLIAC All-Tournament Team honors for Fontbonne were senior catcher Emily Smith and freshman second baseman Alleigh Kruse.

Head Coach Bill Rosner's Season Recap:

Well don't we know all good things come to an end and our end came earlier than expected losing out in the conference tournament for the first time since 2009. We may not have been the best team in SLIAC this year, but we did an incredible job pushing our way through our sixth consecutive SLIAC Conference Championship. I told our coaching staff that this was our best coaching performance to date, starting five or six freshmen and two sophomores with tradition at stake. The season took a bad turn in early March when we lost our all-conference pitcher Lindsay Schaefer. She has been the backbone of our staff, following Madi Leonard and making it the best duo in Fontbonne history. Things got no better when we lost our starting fjrst baseman Melanie Russo halfway through the season.

The team refused to get down and found a way to win better than any team we've coached. We may have lost All-Americans to graduation the last couple of years, but these student-athletes just kept believing in the system and WE and with that kept on winning. It is a huge compliment to the coaches and team and system that we've ran with this thing as long as we have and I hope to win our seventh conference championship next season.

Our freshman/sophomore class really was impressive with the expectations that were placed on them. The learning curve increased quickly and all of them held their own all year. Defense was our weakness which only added to our pitching challenges. It also meant we had to outhit and outscore our opponents which added even more pressure on a young team. I know we're proud of our team and how they performed and their experiences this year will only make them want to be better next year. 

The sad part of any season is saying goodbye to an elite group of seniors and our lone junior. Madi Leonard will leave with almost all of Fontbonne's pitching records in her name. Emily Smith will set the new standard for catchers surpassing Samantha Rosner in games behind the plate. Lindsay Schaefer goes out with an awesome career pitching and hitting and Courtney Kraus an outstanding career as an outie and teammate. Junior Michelle Boyer got her time to shine this season and did an outstanding job stepping into the circle to shut down teams when we needed it most.

It was an incredible ride for sure and WE are better because of it.  Congrats to all on our sixth consecutive SLIAC Conference Championship!!!