FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Goshen College softball team took its conference tournament hopes to the final day of the season Monday, but the Maple Leafs' postseason hopes finally flickered out with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the University of Saint Francis.

Entering the day, Goshen trailed Grace by 1½ games in the race for the final spot in the Crossroads League tournament. With two games left for both teams, Goshen needed to sweep Saint Francis at Westendorf Field in Fort Wayne and have Marian sweep Grace in Indianapolis in order to make the tournament. Instead, Goshen lost 4-3 and 7-4.

The Maple Leafs (16-37-1, 8-26-1) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a Rianna Koteles homer, then pulled ahead in the fifth on a Koteles double: each time, however, Saint Francis (23-24, 16-18) came back to tie the score.

The Cougars got their first run in the second inning on two throwing errors and a fielder's choice. Both runs in the fifth scored on hits, but both were unearned as the result of an earlier miscue. USF tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth on an error, a bunt and a fielder's choice for its first lead of the game at 6-5.

Goshen put its leadoff hitter on in the top of the seventh when Katherine Boyer singled through the left side. Leah Herrman bunted her to second before Koteles walked to fill the open bag. After a foulout for the second out of the inning, a walk to pinch-hitter Rayna Moraga loaded the bases: the tying run stood at third and the go-ahead run at second. Another pinch hitter, McKinzi Vega, stood at the plate. She popped a 1-1 pitch foul behind the plate, seemingly harmlessly.

Instead, with a diving catch by USF backstop Vivian Goodpaster, Goshen's postseason hopes came to an end.

Boyer, Koteles, Brooke Maes and Sandra Rodriguez each had two hits for GC: Koteles also walked twice and scored twice while Rodriguez added a double. Goshen out-hit USF 10-7 and drew five walks while allowing one. Alexis Carpenter went the distance in the circle without conceding an earned run.

USF designated hitter Jordan Schneider went 2 for 3, the only Cougar with multiple hits. Brooke Herron, who started the game in the circle, scored twice despite going 0 for 3. Katy Guebard took the win after two innings of scoreless relief.

Goshen scored twice in the first inning of game two, getting a single from Herrman before Maes was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, but USF would lead 6-2 by the end of the second in a 7-4 win.

Boyer and Herrman each added RBI doubles in the fourth inning for the Maple Leafs, who got two hits apiece from Herrman and Taylor Sutliff. Boyer and Maes each added a walk to their 1-for-2 batting lines and Maes wrapped up her career by pitching five innings of one-run relief.

Center fielder Lizzie Meyer led USF with three hits, including a double, and three runs. Breanna Pryor and Cassidy Ferrer added two hits each with Ferrer driving in two runs. Katelin Augsburger and Aries Petty split time in the circle, with Petty retiring 10 of her 13 batters for the win in relief.

The pair of losses ended Goshen's season: while Marian held up its end of the bargain by defeating Grace in the opener of that doubleheader in Indiana's capital city, the second game was never played as it wouldn't have affected the final conference standings.

The Crossroads League is slated to announce all-conference honors later this week.