Walking off the field at Heritage Park, Lafayette wasn't yet in the mood to celebrate another City Softball Round Robin title.

Thanks to two early victories and some help from conference rival Benton, the Fighting Irish already wrapped up their third city championship in five years when they took the field Saturday against Bishop LeBlond in the event's final contest.

But the hard-luck Golden Eagles prevented Lafayette from making a clean sweep and stunned the champs, 7-1, by playing the spoiler role to a tee. Despite the lackluster finish, the Irish coach had plenty of positives to take away from his team's up-and-down day.

"That was kind of disappointing, but we had some good performances today," Lafayette coach Jeff Leake said after dismissing his dejected squad of players following a lengthy post-game speech in left field. "We hit the ball well and had good pitching today. But that's how it goes."

The Irish (8-3) secured their bragging rights with two stellar performances against Central and Benton. During the opener against the Indians, senior ace Kelcey McMurray turned in another spectacular showing at the annual event by striking out 13 batters during a 5-4 victory.

She received a respite from a recent string of close contests, however, when the Irish broke out the bats against the Cardinals. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, eight consecutive Lafayette batters reached base in a seven-run inning that featured two-run singles by Randi Mollett and McKenzie Jones.

The Irish ran away with ann 8-2 win and then watched the Cardinals knock off Central and cement their tournament victory. After McMurray racked up eight more strikeouts against Benton, Jones then came on in relief to spell the team's ace for the final two innings and then took the mound as the starter against LeBlond.

"We should be able to come out here with her playing at first and hitting," Leake said of McMurray. "We shouldn't have to expect her to throw three and four games a day. I'm not going to throw somebody until their arm falls off."

But Jones - who struck out six in her starting bid - didn't fare as well in the final game against the Eagles. LeBlond (5-7) scored seven runs in the first three innings and received yet another stellar performance from starter Shelby Pusateri.

The LeBlond ace threw a three-hitter against the Irish and finished her memorable day in fitting fashion. In all she totalled 23 innings pitched and only allowed five runs against her team's city rivals. Unfortunately, Pusateri picked up two losses on the day - a 2-0 loss to Central and a 2-1 defeat against Benton in nine innings.

"It's frustrating to watch her go out and throw well and get beat." LeBlond coach Wayne Miller said. "(Lafayette has) handled us twice, and to turn around and beat them when this really meant something to them is a big moment for these girls.

"They felt good about themselves right there."

After scoring only one run in 16 innings, LeBlond's Lauren Josendale went 3-for-4 and scored two runs to spark her youthful team's performance in the final game.

Benton (9-3) also turned in some solid showings despite a rash of injuries. The Cardinals picked up two wins despite starting three freshmen on the infield and allowing at least one big inning in each of its games.

The most dramatic performance came against Central (3-8) - when the Cardinals broke a 4-4 tie by pounding out six hits in the next two innings to retake the lead and surge to a 9-6 victory. Seven Cardinals drove in at least one run, as the team finished with 13 hits against the Indians.

"They're not going to quit fighting," Benton coach Greg Reynolds said. "We've just got to settle down in some situations and take the out. It's a learning experience."

Reliable starter Peyton Bennett proved consistent for Central and mixed an effective blend of pitches to pick up a shutout against LeBlond early in the day.

The round robin did not take place last year when weather forced its cancellation.