PROVIDENCE, R.I. - In their first ever trip to the NCAA DIII Softball Regionals, the Lesley University softball team came within six outs of a victory against Wellesley College.  The Lynx lost to the Blue 3-2 and will look to get back on track on Friday against Rivier College. 

Sophomore first baseman Georgia Saltzman (Lynn, Mass.) knocked in both runs for Lesley in the sixth inning after crushing a two-run home run to deep left centerfield.  The round tripper was her second of the season and drove in Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) who had reached second base with a double earlier in the inning. 

With the runs, the Lynx held their first lead of the game at 2-1.  Wellesley had previous scored in the second inning off an RBI single from Amanda Tai (Melrose, Mass.).

Lesley held the Wellesley's offense in check for much of the game as Alicia Burnett (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) pitched a tremendous game for the Lynx.  In six innings pitched, Burnett gave up no earned runs and struck out two batters while giving up nine hits. 

In the bottom half of the sixth inning, the Blue were able to tie the game at two runs a piece as Kara Wong (Milford, Mass.) drove in Meghan Sullivan (Markam, Ontario) with a single to centerfield. 

Wellesley would hold Lesley scoreless in the top of the seventh inning to give the Blue an opportunity to win in the bottom of the seventh.  Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) led off the inning with a triple down the right field line.  The next batter Ilana Orloff (Weston, Mass.) hit a groundball to second base that resulted in a throwing error, scoring the winning run from third base. 

The only other hit the Lynx would manage other than the Saltzman home run and the Durben triple was a perfectly placed bunt down the first base line by Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.). 

Lesley will now face Rivier College on Friday, May 9 at 10 a.m. at Rhode Island College.  Rivier, the number seven seed in the tournament, lost to Tufts University on Thursday by the score of 6-3. 

To learn more about the Lesley University softball team, please visit their website.