Worcester, Mass. – 18th-ranked Stockton University (30-9) was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with a 7-6 setback to Albertus Magnus (Conn.) (28-19), bringing an end to a memorable season highlighted by an NJAC regular season title, NFCA national ranking and NCAA Tournament berth, all for the first time in school history.
Stockton staged a late rally from a 5-1 deficit with five runs in the last two innings to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh, only to have the outcome swing on two unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Freshman
Emily Clauss (Delanco/BCIT) went 2-4 with a double and two runs. Fellow rookie
Cassie Stallwood (Flemington/Hunterdon Central) was 2-3 with a run.
Alexa Panagopoylos (Atco/Hammonton) led off the fourth inning with a double that tied the school record of 15 doubles in a season.
The Ospreys fell behind 4-0 in the first four innings before an RBI single on a bunt by
McKenna George (Centennial, Colo./Eaglecrest) got Stockton on the board in the top of the fifth. Albertus Magnus answered with a run in the bottom half for a 5-1 count.
Stockton exploded for four runs in the sixth inning to tie the game. Clauss scored on an error and then
Regan Mendick (Newark, Del./Red Lion Christian) rapped a pinch-hit RBI double that brought Stallwood home to make it 5-3. Two batters later, a two-run double by
Camryn Harry (Swedesboro/Paul VI) knotted the game 5-5.
Clauss led off the top of the seventh with a single and later scored the go-ahead run on an error to put Stockton on top 6-5. In the bottom of the seventh, Albertus Magnus got two runners aboard with one out. A single by Gina Solow led to a rundown, during which a defensive miscue allowed the tying and winning runs to score unearned as the Ospreys were edged 7-6.
Solow, Izzy Barreiro and Amelia Ovalles led Albertus Magnus with two hits apiece, with Ovalles adding a double and two RBI.
Stockton finished the season with 30 victories for its highest win total in a decade. The Ospreys cracked the NFCA national poll for the first time in school history on March 31 and remained in the rankings for the rest of the season, climbing as high as 15th.
Stockton won its first-ever NJAC regular season title and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth with a ranking of 17th out of 393 teams in the NCAA Power Index (NPI). Seven of the 11 Ospreys who played in at least 30 games were either freshmen or sophomores, projecting a bright future for the program after a historic 2026 season.
