BOSTON – No. 1 Lesley University advanced to the New England Collegiate Conference Championship with a 4-1 win over No. 2 Elms College Friday afternoon in NECC Tournament play.
Jennifer Dorval (Franklin, NH/Franklin) picked up her second win of the day, coming on in relief of Cassandra Knox (Sea Cliff, NY/North Shore) for four shutout innings, striking out seven in improving her record to 15-2.
Knox escaped trouble twice in the early going. With the bases loaded and two outs in the second, she froze designated player Destinee Meeker looking to escape the jam. An inning later, Alison McBride (East Providence, RI/East Providence) singled and advanced on an illegal pitch and a sac bunt, but was caught trying to score on a suicide squeeze on a flip from first base Ashley Cunningham (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood) to catcher Molly Sarson (Sanford, ME/Sanford). Rachel Butt, who reached on the bunt, was then thrown out by Sarson trying to steal second, squashing Elms' potential rally.
After keeping the game tied on a defensive play at the plate, Sarson stepped up to the dish and gave the Lynx the lead. Her two-out double to the wall in left plated Jenna Fralick (Woburn, MA/Woburn), and Alyson Durben (Stow, MA/Nashoba) then scored Sarson with a single to center. After Dorval singled, freshman Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield) doubled home Durben and Dorval to double the Lesley lead to 4-0 after three.
Elms bounced right back, as a walk, single and a Knox illegal pitch landed the Blazers with runners at second and third with no outs in the fourth. Sarah Buckley (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug) scored on a Knox wild pitch, which would be her final pitch, as she then gave way to Dorval in relief.
The freshman promptly extinguished the Elms' budding rally, striking out the first three batters she faced to strand a runner at third base and prevent any further damage. Just hours after a 12-strikeout, five-inning complete game shutout of Newbury earlier in the day, Dorval worked the final four innings, striking out seven and allowing only one hit in the 4-1 win.
Offensively, Sarson went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run for the Lynx, Mercurio went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs and Fralick went 1-for-3 with a run.
McBride paced the Blazers from the leadoff spot, going 2-for-4. Starter Courtney Hampton (Westfield, MA/Westfield) allowed four earned runs over her six innings, striking out two.
The Lynx won their 18th straight game in improving to 28-6. Elms, now 21-13, will face Mitchell tomorrow morning at 10:00 for the chance to play Lesley in Saturday's noon title game.
The team that advances from the 10:00 game will have to beat Lesley twice in order to win the tournament, while Lesley is one win away from its fourth straight conference championship.
Mitchell survives scare from Newbury, advances to Saturday with 3-1 win
BOSTON – No. 3 Mitchell College scored three in the sixth come from behind over No. 5 Newbury, 3-1, Friday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference Softball Tournament play.
Newbury got on the board in the fourth, when Brittany Stracher (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill) tripled to the wall in center and was singled in by Joanna Robie (Andover, MA/Andover).
Nighthawks starter Rebecca Roach worked out of trouble early on, escaping two-on, one-out pickles in the first two innings. Robie's single put the Nighthawks on top in the fourth, which held until the sixth, when Roach entered a jam she could not escape.
Jen Bordonaro (Winsted, CT/Gilbert) reached on a two-base throwing error to lead off the inning, and with two outs, Stacey Suplicki (New London, CT/Saint Bernard) singled home Bordonaro to tie the game at 1-1. Tiffany Person's (Waterbury, CT/Crosby) RBI double to the left-center field gap scored Suplicki, and Person came around on a Meghan Burke (Bronx, NY/Preston) base hit to cap the three-run rally.
Newbury put two runners on in the top of the sixth but failed to get either across, as Mariners starter Marissa Thomas (New London, CT/Saint Bernard) earned her 12th win of the season, striking out four and giving up only three hits.
Nikki Hoxie (Winsted, CT/Gilbert) went 2-for-3 for Mitchell, which will now take on the loser of the 4 p.m. game between No. 2 Elms and No. 1 Lesley.
For Newbury, which ends its season at 10-24, Stracher went 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Robie went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
