ELON, N.C. - After a first day rainout prolonged the meeting between the ninth-seeded Elon Phoenix and the eighth-seeded Western Carolina Lady Catamounts, the two teams took to the field for the first time this season Wednesday morning for the single-elimination play-in game of the 2009 Southern Conference Softball Championship at Jim Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.  Elon fell to the Lady Catamounts 4-1, with senior Patti Weber driving in Elon’s only run.  Jacqueline Gonzalez went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the team in hitting.

With the loss, Elon ends its season with a 15-32 record that included a 6-15 record in the Southern Conference.  Western Carolina improves to 11-33 on the season and will face the first-seeded Chattanooga at 1 p.m.

Brandi Jones took the first pitch she saw to center field for a base hit. Trying to move Jones into scoring position, Gonzalez, instead reached on a fielder’s choice, with Jones being thrown out at second.  With one out, Weber roped a stand-up double to left-center that scored Gonzalez from first for the first run of the SoCon Tournament.

Elon starter Erin O’Shea opened the bottom of the first inning with a strikeout of Chelsea Schaffer for the first out of the Western Carolina first.  A catch in foul territory by Ashlee Crewe was followed with O’Shea’s second strikeout of the morning that ended the inning.

A pair of singles by Mollie Fowler and Stephanie Beatty and a walk by Lauren Ross loaded the bases with no outs for Western Carolina in the bottom of the second.  Keri Burnside scored Fowler on a single to right field to make it a 1-1 game.  A sacrifice fly by Beth Hauser allowed the go-ahead run to score to give the Lady Catamounts a 2-1 lead.  Following a walk that loaded the bases, O’Shea set down the final batter with her fourth strikeout of the game.

Jones drew a one-out walk in the top of the third that was followed by an infield single by Gonzalez. Neither would score as Western Carolina pitcher Katie King struck out the final two Phoenix batters.

Weber flashed the leather in the bottom of the third with an running grab in foul territory for the first out of the inning.  Beatty drove in Western Carolina’s third run of the game with a double to left center that scored Fowler.  Gonzalez recorded the second out with a diving stop.  Beatty gave the Lady Catamounts a 4-1 lead off of a wild pitch by Melanie Helterbran, who came on in relief of O’Shea.  Helterbran got the final batter to pop up to second to end the inning.

Neither team was able to plate a run over the next two and a half innings.  Gonzalez led off the top of the sixth with a single to third base but would be thrown out at second a fielder’s choice by Weber.  The final two outs were recorded to end the inning without an Elon run.

Caitlin McGowan singled in the top of the seventh inning as the Phoenix looked to start a late-inning rally. The Phoenix were unable to plate a run, allowing Western Carolina to take the game 4-1 and advance into the tournament bracket.

King earned the complete-game win for Western Carolina to improve to 6-16 on the season.  She allowed just run one on six scattered hits.  She also struck out six and walked one batter.  O’Shea fell to 6-16 with the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings.  She also walked four batters and struck out four.  Also appearing in the circle was Helterbran who scattered four hits and struck out one batter in 3.1 innings of work.