Box Score John Carroll took final exams from Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon, drove three-and-a-half hours Wednesday evening, waited until mid afternoon Thursday to take the field, and all the Blue Streaks had to show for their journey was one hit.

That one hit was not nearly enough to fend off a hot Allegheny team, as the Gators scored two runs in both the third and sixth innings to defeat JCU, 4-0.

Allegheny improves to 22-18, while the Blue Streaks fall to 26-12.

The lone John Carroll hit was a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth by Mackenzie Griffin, who reached base safely for the 20th consecutive game.

The Blue Streaks had no answer for Allegheny starter Caitlin Nealer, who improved to 19-16. She struck out eight and walked two while allowing just the one hit and no runs.

"(Nealer) pitched very well," said John Carroll head coach Erin Brooks. "She did a nice job changing speeds and had a great curveball."

John Carroll starting pitcher Rachel Byrnes did her best to match Nealer. She also struck out eight batters but allowed seven hits and four runs in seven innings. Byrnes' record dropped to 19-5 on the season.

In this double-elimination format, John Carroll (1-3 all-time in NCAA tournament play) will now face the loser of the Capital-Thomas More match-up on Friday, May 10, at 12 noon.

"We just need to find ourselves," said Griffin. "We all want to be here ... we just need to refocus."