The (RV) Park University softball program traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa as the No. 3 seed in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament with a 1-2 record. The Pirates won their opener against No. 6 Mount Mercy 7-3, but No. 2 Grand View and No. 4 Benedictine earned 5-2 and 5-3 wins.

31-14 is Head Coach Lindsey Derry's highest number of wins at Park in her 9^th season and the 30^th season of Park softball.

Chloe Gilbert was named to the Heart All-Tournament team at catcher. The sophomore in her first post-season run impressed with two home runs and one double with four RBIs to lead Park's squad at the plate.

Mount Mercy, W 7-3 | Box Score
In game one, Gilbert got to work in the first inning with a two RBI double to score Halle Magee and Gracie Ramsey. A senior got in on the mix after Gilbert, as Dani-Quinn Klein McAlister singled to right field to bring in Gilbert for a 3-0 Pirate lead.

In the circle for the Pirates was Lauren Fiene, a 2^nd Team Heart All-Conference performer, and she delivered with four shutout innings of work to start her day.

 When Gilbert came back around, she extended the lead to 4-0 with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. That same inning, Emma James came through with a single to left field to score Hanna Vaught and Park was up 5-0.

Mount Mercy got back in the game with a three-run fifth inning. A triple jump started things for Mount Mercy and a walk and a single got them on the board 7-1. Fiene worked her second out of the inning, but then an error extended the inning and allowed a second run to score. A walk by Fiene would end her day at 4.2 innings pitched with only one earned run and the ball was handed to Myel White with the bases loaded. Another walk scored the third run for Mount Mercy, but White induced the fly out to end the inning, 5-3.

With the game still far from over, the offense responded well with a solo home run by another senior Shelby Sanders. Faith Tessman, a freshman out of Staley High School, left her mark on the game with an RBI double to bring in McAlister, 7-3.

The Mustangs had something brewing in the top of the sixth, but Hanna Vaught, the Heart Freshman of the Year, put an end to the Mustang's momentum. With runners on second and first, she left both stranded with three straight outs.

An error gave Mount Mercy an opportunity to do something in the top of the seventh, but again Vaught was tough in the circle with two groundouts to give Park its first Heart tournament win for the program.

Grand View, L 2-5 | Box Score
There were some tough matchups ahead, including the next game against the No. 2 seeded Vikings of Grand View University. At 34-13 entering the game, the Vikings had played Park in close 4-3 and 4-2 games in Des Moines, Iowa in late March. The score between these two teams was not far off the previous matchups in the end.

Vaught was called upon for the start and carried a 13-3 record coming into the game. She kept the Vikings down to start the game and only allowed one hit through two innings. The Vikings were equally tough in the circle and the game stayed scoreless through two innings.

A triple broke the game open for the Vikings to score the first run and then a sacrifice fly put the Vikings up 2-0 in the bottom of the third.

The bats of the Pirates rose to the occasion in the top of the fourth inning with solo home runs by Magee and Gilbert to tie the game up at 2-2.

The Vikings had the same idea in the bottom of the fourth and put together some two out hitting with a single and a double to get the lead back, 4-2.

The Pirates did some two out hitting of their own with three consecutive singles to load the bases, but the Vikings were able to record the third out to end the inning.

The Vikings tacked one more run on the board in the sixth and Vaught finished her day with a complete game in six innings of work, allowing five earned runs, seven hits, and four walks.

The Vikings held Park scoreless the next to innings to seal the win. Grand View would go on to a 3-0 record and win the Heart Tournament Championship.

Benedictine, L 3-5 | Box Score
Park and Benedictine were both facing elimination on Saturday evening. The Ravens matched Park with 31 wins on the season coming into the game, but Park swept Benedictine in Parkville in April to edge them the conference standings at 18-6 to 15-9.

It was a scoreless contest through four innings. Fiene pitched an excellent game with only three hits allowed in her complete game.

The top of the fifth though was a tough pill to swallow for the Pirates, which started with an error to get the Ravens on base. A single moved the runner to third and then a ball on the infield resulted in a fielder's choice that everyone advanced on and the Ravens were up 1-0. A single brought in a second run, but then the following batter came all the way around to score as the Raven batter singled, but then an errant throw all the way into the left field corner resulted in three more runs coming in to score, 5-0. The five-run inning came on three hits and two errors.

Fiene kept composed and prevented the Ravens from scoring the rest of the way.

Park made it interesting in the bottom of the sixth, starting with a two out walk by Ramsey. Two singles by Magee and Sanders scored Park's first run, 5-1. After a pitching change, Gilbert walked and McAlister drove in two more runs on a single to make it 5-3.

Caroline Riffer with two outs doubled to left field to give hope to Park, but the Ravens left her on base to end the game, 5-3.

Magee's hit in the sixth inning gives her 186 career hits and ties Park's all-time career hits record.

Park had three errors in the field, while Benedictine had a clean sheet. The Ravens also had nine strikeouts in the circle.

The (RV) Pirates will await the results of the NAIA Selection show on Wednesday, May 7 at 5pm to determine where their season goes from here. WATCH