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ӣ����Ƶ University lost both of its games in its first taste of the NCAA softball tournament, but is hoping there is more to come.

SLU was knocked out of the double-elimination regional tournament with a 4-2 loss to Indiana on Saturday at Fayetteville, Ark. After losing 10-0 to fourth-seeded Arkansas in its opening game on Friday, SLU came closer this time, putting the tying run on second in the sixth and at the plate in the seventh but couldn’t get even. In the seventh, Abby Mallo, the team’s top offensive player, was at the plate, but she popped out to end the game.

“We took everything we could from this,” said SLU coach Christy Connoyer. “Experiences, moments, highlights, some challenges. The backpack of experiences, it got really full this weekend. … I think taking from this regional, especially after today’s game, because it’s challenging, you’re in a very challenging regional, we can compete. Keep building, keep building. You have the first, and as I told them, there will never be another first team to make the regional, they will always be that first team to make the regional, setting the legacy, continuing to raise the bar.”

SLU finished the season 34-24. Mallo drove in both runs, getting a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning and hitting a solo home run in the sixth. With the RBIs, she set the Atlantic 10 record in that category with 82, and the home run was her 20th, tying her for the A-10 record.

“She really always keeps you in the game,” said SLU pitcher Isabel Royle. “When you have someone that, whenever they step up to the plate, there’s automatic confidence and belief in her. … She goes up to the plate, and we never have a doubt in our mind. We always know the game can change when she has the bat in her hands.”

SLU fell behind 2-0 in the first inning, got a run back in the third and then fell behind 4-1 in the fifth. SLU had runners on second and third with one out in the sixth after Mallo's home run, but two strikeouts ended the inning. SLU got a runner on with a walk in the seventh but that was as far as she got.

Oklahoma State beat Indiana 16-8 in the following elimination game, putting Oklahoma State in the regional final on Sunday against Arkansas. Oklahoma State will need to win twice to advance.