The seniors on the Coe College softball team will proudly receive their diplomas at 10 a.m. Sunday morning during a commencement ceremony in the Stewart Memorial Library Quad in the heart of campus in northeast Cedar Rapids.

But with all due respect to their academic achievements, they'd rather be across the street at Clark Field playing for the NCAA Division III regional title at the exact same time.

Unfortunately for the 11th-ranked Kohawks, No.13 St. Thomas College and No. 22 Augustana will be playing ball on the Coe campus while the Kohawks are dressed in their caps and gowns nearby.

Coe lost to Augustana, 5-1, in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday afternoon and then was bounced by St. Thomas, 7-3, in the loser's bracket finals.

Those two losses chased the Kohawks (35-10) out of the tournament.

Maddison Woodruff, Coe's all-star pitcher who played all season with a torn labrum in her right shoulder, had a tough day, first as a relief pitcher against Augustana and then as the starter against St. Thomas.

She was touched for three home runs Saturday and knocked out of the game against St. Thomas after allowing seven runs (six earned) in 4.1 innings. She tossed a two-hit shutout in the opening round Friday and eagerly tried again Saturday, but clearly did not have her best stuff.

It was an emotional finish for the two-time Iowa Conference Pitcher of the Year, who was still teary-eyed 15 minutes after her career ended.

Woodruff stood alone in the Coe dugout with her back to the field after she left the game against St. Thomas, collecting her thoughts and trying to control her emotions.

"It just kind of hit me that it's over. It's hard," she remarked. "I starting pitching when I was in third grade. It's going to be hard to stop doing something you do every day."

Woodruff insisted on playing this season, even with a torn labrum that would have sent other people to the operating room.

"The game means a lot, my teammates mean a lot," she said. "I knew we had something special. I wasn't going to give up; we weren't ready to give up."

Coe catcher Abby Flannagan, the other half of Coe's all-star battery, battled shin splints this season, making it painful to crouch behind the plate, but she shared Woodruff's fierce determination to keep going.

"This year definitely has been a trial for me, but I love the game and I love playing with these girls," said Flannagan. "So if I had a broken arm, I would get back there if I could. The injuries haven't stopped Maddison or I all year."

Flannagan, a biology major, plans to attend medical school. Woodruff, an accounting and business major, could be headed to the business world, but also wants to coach. She'll be an assistant coach with the Kennedy High School varsity this season.

They were members of a small but talented senior class that included Danielle Schlotterbeck and Nicole Gentile. They won the Iowa Conference regular-season title and cracked the top-10 in the national rankings this season.

The Kohawks had a fairly young team this season and Coach Bob Timmons did not know what to expect back in February with Woodruff and Flannagan battling their physical ailments. Timmons naturally wanted to keep playing in the NCAA tournament, but was delighted by what his team achieved this season.

"I've had a lot of special ones, but this was very special because it was something that was somewhat surprising," he remarked.

Schlotterbeck, a good-hitting left fielder, also had leg problems this season, joining Woodruff and Flannagan in the trainer's room.

"They showed a lot of courage and a lot of leadership in what they were doing," said Timmons. "It meant something to them. And that's what's special about those kids."

Timmons will enter his 30th year as a head coach next season with a 926-366 overall record at Mount Mercy and Coe, but he'll be doing it without some of the people who helped Coe achieve some good things this year.

"It hasn't quite set in that I won't be able to put the uniform on again," said Flannagan, a career .366 hitter with 19 homers and 100 RBIs. "These four years have been amazing, and the girls I have gotten to know and the coaches that I've gotten to play for.

"It's been phenomenal," she said, " and I wouldn't have had it any other way."