Fayette, Mo. - The Cougar Softball team saw their season come to an end today at the opening round of the 2015 NAIA Softball National Championship after falling to Cardinal Stritch 5-4 this afternoon. Columbia finishes the 2015 season with a record of 29-18.

The Wolves took advantage of three Columbia miscues in the second inning to grab an early 5-0 lead.

The Cougars responded back in the fourth inning as Jessica Hardy was hit by a pitch and came around to score on an RBI triple by Brittiany Tjarks. Samantha Davis followed with a single to right field to score Tjarks to make it 5-2.

Columbia continued to chip away at the Cardinal Stritch lead as they pushed two more runs across in the fifth. Carly Spalding led off with an infield base hit and advanced to second on a stolen base. Tylin Stephens was then awarded first base due to fielder obstruction on the first baseman while Spalding moved to third on the play. Allyson Metz then singled to score Spalding. Taylor Atwood would pull the Cougars within one as she put the ball in play to score Stephens.

Despite putting runners in scoring position in the final two innings, the Cougars were unable to capitalize on the opportunities as the Wolves held on for the victory.

Paxton Welch suffered the hard luck loss in the circle after allowing just one earned run and striking out five. Spalding went 2-for-4 to lead the Cougar offense while Stephens, Metz, Hardy, Tjarks, Davis, and Kaylee Brueggeman each chipped in one hit.

Cardinal Stritch was eliminated in the next game as they fell to Bellevue 2-1. Bellevue advanced to Wednesday's championship game for a rematch with Central Methodist. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. with an if-necessary game scheduled for 3:30 p.m. For the complete tournament bracket and latest results, visit this link.