For Immediate Release

April 25, 2012

Third-seeded Assumption College topped No. 6 seed Southern New Hampshire University, 3-2, in a Northeast-10 Conference Softball Championship Quarterfinal contest on Wednesday afternoon, while fourth-seeded Le Moyne College was also victorious, downing the University of Massachusetts Lowell by a 5-3 final.

With the victories, the Greyhounds and Dolphins both advance to Championship Weekend, which will take place Friday through Sunday. The double elimination portion of the championship will be hosted by Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn.

In other Northeast-10 Conference Quarterfinal action on Tuesday, top-seeded Southern Connecticut State University held off for a 10-inning, 4-3 victory over eighth-seeded Stonehill College and seventh-seeded University of New Haven upset No. 2 seed Adelphi University on the road, 5-4.

#3 Assumption 3, #6 So. New Hampshire 2 - BOX
Worcester, Mass. – Third-seeded Assumption walked off with a 3-2 victory over sixth-seeded So. New Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon, as an RBI double by Tanya Robidoux in the seventh inning gave the Greyhounds a quarterfinal victory at Marois Field.

Assumption will now face seventh-seeded New Haven on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

The Greyhounds took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two-run single by Marissa Palumbo, but So. New Hampshire’s Kelsey Cheney connected for a two-run shot – her 15th home run of the season – with Amanda Barton aboard in the fifth to tie the game.

Assumption starting pitcher Jennifer Lowrey, the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, improved to 15-7 after allowing two earned on five hits in the complete-game victory. She had 13 strikeouts and walked two.

Penmen starter Ali Maloof allowed two runs on six hits over 3.1 innings in the no decision, striking out six and walking none. Rebecca Sherwood took the loss, as the game-winning run in the seventh was the only she allowed in three innings of relief.

#4 Le Moyne 5, #5 UMass Lowell 3 - BOX
Syracuse, N.Y. – Fifth-seeded Le Moyne got three hits from Kelcie Cashel, including the game-winning two-run double in the bottom of the sixth, to defeat No. 5 seed UMass Lowell, 5-3, on Wednesday at the Niland Athletic Complex.

With the victory, Le Moyne now will take on top-seeded So. Connecticut on Friday at 10:00 a.m.

Cashel finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI out of the leadoff spot, while starting pitcher Sarah Harrison improved to 25-15 in the circle after allowing three runs on three hits in a complete game effort. She walked three and struck out seven.

Le Moyne took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as a result of a wild pitch and a throwing error, and it would stay that way until the fourth, when UMass Lowell pushed a run across on an Ali Ferraro double.

The River Hawks added two more in the fifth on a sac fly by Ariana Darcy and an Elyssa Boris RBI double to take a 3-2 lead, but the Dolphins’ Morgan Edmondson doubled home a run in the bottom half to tie it up. 

Boris allowed two runs – one earned – on five hits over four innings on the mound for UMass Lowell, while Courtney Lanfranchi took the loss after surrendering three earned in two innings of work.

The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

-NE-10-