NASHVILLE -- After losing a 3-1 quarterfinal game to Trevecca Nazarene earlier in the day, fifth-seeded Cumberland's softball season came to a close with a 2-1 loss in eight innings to Bethel in an elimination game in the TranSouth Championships at the Trojan Softball Complex Thursday.

The Lady Bulldogs finish the year with a 20-30 mark, a 13-win improvement over second-year head coach Heather Stanfill's first campaign.

Bethel's run in the eighth inning came on an RBI single to left that Christina Manis came inches of snagging on a dive. The hit off the bat of Amanda Renfroe scored Brittany Edmonds, who singled up the middle and moved up a base each on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

The tally was the first for either team since the first inning when Bethel struck first, getting a run on the board in the top of the frame on a pair of singles, including Amanda Renfroe's hit that scored Lindsey Davis, who started the game with a bloop to right field and stole second. The two hits and a pair of walks loaded the bases for the Wildcats, but Katie Pacifici grounded back to pitcher Allison Blackwood to end the threat. The two walks were the first free passes issued by Blackwood in 36 2-3 innings, dating back to the second game of a doubleheader against Mid-Continent University on April 16.

It didn't take long for Cumberland to answer, knotting the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame. Christina Manis beat out a leadoff bunt and stole her 22nd base of the year, swiping second. The speedster from Hendersonville, Tenn., moved to third on a groundout by CaSarah Gilliam before Blackwood ripped a double off the wall in left-center, scoring Manis. The two-bagger was the eighth of the year for the Lawrence County High School product and her team-leading 27th RBI.

Trevecca 3, Cumberland 1
Cumberland University fell behind early and couldn't climb out of the hole against host Trevecca Nazarene in a 3-1 earlier Thursday.

Blackwood, who had the most RBIs of any player in the tournament after the first day with five, drove in Cumberland's only run of the day with a one-out single that brought Manis home. The former Station Camp High School standout led off the inning with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Gilliam.

The Cumberland lead was short-lived as the Lady Trojans (39-13) put up two runs with two outs in the bottom of the first. After Manis robbed a base hit with a diving catch to get the second out of the inning, Anais Puertas got a bloop single into shallow left-center and Karli Rush followed with a triple into the right-field corner. Rush came home on a single by Monica West, who went 3-for-3 and drove in Trevecca's other run in the third inning.